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Comment by tomerv | Hacker News Reader

Shame, I actually liked the idea of mandatory masks on public transportation. I always get sick on flights (pre-COVID; I haven't flown since COVID started) and it's really annoying to have a runny nose while on vacation. I'm sure I catch it in the airport or on the plane, because it always starts 1-2 after the flight.

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Nice N95 masks are readily available now and more comfortable than they were before 2020. Even when the rule drops you are welcome to wear one. I always feel like I want to throw up while wearing a mask on a plane because it amplifies the thin dry air for me / feels constricting so I'm excited for the rule to be removed as I'd feel less sick on the plane.

Echoing a comment to the original OP, have you considered taking steps to improve your personal health instead of putting those around you at risk?

That’s the nice thing about N95 masks. If you don’t feel comfortable breathing the same air as those around you, you’re more than welcome to put one on. Seems like the onus is on the prospective mask wearer here, not every single air breather they may come in contact with.

Have you considered taking steps to possibly improve your own health instead of wishing that a government or corporation would require everyone around you to wear a face covering indefinitely for your own personal benefit?

What’s there to improve about one’s health? Cold viruses are very contagious and the majority of people don’t have good hygiene or consideration for others.

There’s so many people that don’t want to wear seatbelts, what hope is there for masks.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. In general I'm healthy. If you're implying I should wear a mask when flying, then the problem with that is that pre-COVID you would be seen as weird for going on a plane with a mask. I suspect it will go back to that status eventually if there are no rules forcing masks. Maybe that's the Nash equilibrium. An external rule can change the equilibrium to something that is better for everyone - including you.

If you are going to ask others to wear masks even if it is uncomfortable then why can't you put up with being seen as weird? Does how strangers judge you matter that much to you?

Wouldn't it be better to make it it the social norm to wear masks when you have an active respiratory illness - like it is in asia - or when you are at risk rather than forcing everyone to wear them?

About 20% of passengers on a flight typically catch a cold (rhinovirus). I researched this issue several years ago because it was quite a problem for me. After I began following hygienic measures, I rarely caught a cold. I made a recent comment regarding this (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30539411).

I had a very expensive holiday mostly ruined because someone arrived at a 1 to 1 meeting with me the week before and announced 5 minutes in: "sorry - i've got a cold at the moment".

I now always phone ahead if I've got sniffles and ask permission. There should be better ettiquette around things like this.

I'd rather see the ettiquette around coughing in public confined spaces. In some cultures it is frowned upon and happens very rarely.

In western culture it seems like the agreement is that coughs are completely uncontrollable and are acceptable anywhere.

Maybe those that can't control their coughs should wear masks but those healthy enough to suppress coughs do not have to.

Some people cough uncontrollably for chronic health reasons. Would those people just be persona non grata everywhere?

People that have constant diarrhea for example can't go in pools. Yet pools you can chlorinate to actually kill the bacteria.

You are much more likely to get sick from someone coughing in a small confined space with you vs. if someone has diarrhea in the water next to you.

An alien looking upon this world would probably think it strange and illogical that we are generally okay with the coughing scenario but not with the pool scenario.

If it's anything like my discovery with supermarkets, most of it might not be airborne. I started gelling my hands after using a trolley a few years back. Rarely if ever get sick now. I suspect people sneezing all over the handle and then me rubbing my face was why I was always sick.

Yeah, but SARS-CoV-2 is spread via aerosols, as are influenza viruses [1].

Not to say it's not a good idea to disinfect your shopping cart handle - and the downturn of the last years in non-covid infectious diseases as part of hygienic measures being made mandatory or at the very least somewhat followed proves that -, but it won't help much against covid.

[1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC3372341/

Nothing stopping you wearing one on your own :) could help reduce the probability of getting sick.

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