How I got someone to wear a mask today -- and a hint for pregnant people.

[pnwmom]

Though I had done an express check-in at the lab ( blood work for a kidney stone), and had gotten a text saying they were ready for me, they weren't.

So I had a lot of time to sit around the very small waiting room and notice that one of the people there had no mask -- actually, she had one but it was pulled down to her neck. So I quietly said something like, "It's better if we wear them up." And she grimaced and said something about not being able to stand it anymore. And then I pointed to a young woman in line, with her back to us. And I said, even more quietly: "but she's pregnant." (Obviously and undeniably.)

And the person who couldn't stand to wear a mask suddenly had her eyes pop open (literally) and she said, "You're right!" and whipped that mask up and over her face.

HINT FOR PREGNANT PEOPLE: forget about saving maternity clothes for when you really need them. If I were pregnant, I'd start wearing them right away. It's a visible signal to those around you that they really, really, should have their masks on, no matter how uncomfortable they think they are. The non-mask wearer I encountered wasn't thinking --but as soon as I gently reminded her, she was EAGER to help protect the pregnant woman.

[Gothmog]

1. Good job

[Ohiogal]

2. An acquaintance

of mine told me that the news media inflates the numbers of cases they report and it’s really not as many as they say there are. She also claims that hospitals are writing “Covid-19” on death certificates even when that’s not the cause of death because the hospitals get more money the more Covid-19 deaths they have. I asked how she knew this. She just said the media is powerful and makes us believe whatever they want us to believe.

[aggiesal]

11. Another Covidiot! n/t

[paleotn]

13. I've heard the same....

my response is what's the point and how does that actually work. More money for Covid-19 deaths that is. Who's paying more if someone dies from a particular disease and why? Insurance companies? Medicare? Medicaid? Why would they? A death is just another death. What would be the point of that? The usual answer is, in so many words....stop it! You're making my brain work! Logic is hard! Much easier to spout nonsense without actually thinking it through!

[Jillgirl]

16. A friend told me exactly those two things:

that the news media inflate the numbers and that doctors attribute to covid deaths that really are caused by something else, but they get more money for a covid death. I didn't ask her where she had heard this obvious bullshit, because I didn't want to get more angry.

If there is a way to find the number of deaths attributable to covid, I think it is excess death data: How many more deaths have there been in the United States since the pandemic came here this year than in the same period in 2019? Unless there is something other than covid to attribute them to, it's reasonable to assume those deaths were caused by covid. I did not research the data then because my friend, who was getting called back to work, was clinging with all she had to the notion that covid is not so bad. If she needed to believe that, I didn't want to ruin anything for her.

But just now I've found a recent article with the data: Between mid-March and mid-May, there were 94,700 excess deaths in the US, which is 18,600 more than the 76,101 that were attributed to covid.

It looks like a month ago the US covid death toll was being underreported by 18,600.

[procon]

3. Glad she saw the light, but it's so disheartening

that it took a visual cue and a verbal reminder to her to comply.

I think of all the other people who are unnecessarily placed at risk by the tens of thousands of irresponsible people just like her and it's daunting. I don't understand the selfishness.

Anytime we get around other people no one knows who is undergoing chemo for cancer, or who has asthma or other diseases. How does someone look at that big burly man and not see his lungs are almost gone after 20 years as a firefighter? Any serious illness could be enough to kill people with underlying medical problems.

If people refuse to wear a mask for their own health, then wear one for the sake of everyone else.

[pnwmom]

5. You are right, of course. There are many people with invisible conditions put them at risk.

But if there was anyone like that in Labcorp today, they were also protected when the non-mask wearer decided she needed to protect the pregnant woman.

So in that sense, every pregnant person who decides to flaunt her pregnancy -- and encourages others to wear masks for her -- helps everyone else in the room, too.

[sheshe2]

4. Good on you!

Thank you 😊

[42bambi]

6. I remind people that wearing a mask is easy ... then I continue with what our

soldiers deal with every day while in Afghanistan, how they struggle with the weight of carrying about 60 pounds of gear on their body for months and months; they are in a foreign country, no family, and few amenities. And some are complaining about wearing a mask - really?

[cwydro]

7. Wow, amazed the place you go for bloodwork allows people in without masks.

A friend of mine has to go regularly, and she said everyone is always masked, separated, and dealt with fairly quickly.

They only recently started letting people in. They were meeting them at their cars before this.

What state are you in?

[pnwmom]

10. She had a mask around her neck. I assume she had it on her face when she walked in.

But there was only one person behind the desk, talking on the phone the whole time, and she wasn't paying attention.

I"m in WA where most people wear masks in public spaces, except when running outside, so I was surprised to see her doing this.

[Neema]

8. Of course, there's that woman that pulled down her mask to cough in a baby's face

so clearly not all folks would respond like you'd hope.

[KPN]

9. Good work! Well done.

F

[Miigwech]

12. Great!

[LiberalArkie]

14. Most people are just wrapped up in their own little worlds totally oblivious to anything/anyone

around them.

[NurseJackie]

15. I'm too old. I don't think anyone would believe me.

[pnwmom]

17. Me, neither. But we're not too old to speak up on behalf of them.

[Blue_true]

18. The lab that I go to for bloodwork only allows two people in the

waiting area at one time. Anyone not wearing a mask us asked to leave the building. I saw it happen one day when I was there for bloodwork.

[pnwmom]

19. That's the way this place should be. But the woman yakking on the phone didn't seem to care

that people with appointments were stacking up.

I even piped up at one point, "There's people waiting here!" and she just ignored me.

At one point it was so bad that the tech person came out of the room looking for me (by name), but the receptionist on the phone said she was still working on my paperwork. And I'd been sitting there for 20 minutes listening to her gab.

[Blue_true]

20. Sounds like that lab has a problem.

I have not waited more that 10 minutes at the lab that I use.

Maybe you should point out the issue with the lab to your Doctor.

[pnwmom]

21. Good idea. n/t