Happy anniversary to the “lockdown” 
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Happy anniversary. 
Related to that first link, when this all started, we had passed a single-use plastic bag ban in Maine, but implementation got postponed bc of COVID fears.
I’d been bringing my own bags for ages, but on this day in 2020 the guy in front of me in line at the grocery store had a complete melt down about my cloth bags. It’s weird thinking back about how he was getting right up in managers’ faces (masks weren’t yet recommended, but the 6’ distance was) complaining that they were allowing cloth bags.
I wonder if he ever thinks back on that with chagrin.
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Christ, what an asshole 
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It was jarring, but I think he was just really scared, like so many of us were. But it’s funny thinking back on all the “precautions” people got all caught up in that, in retrospect, really weren’t and aren’t an issue. (And that they were so willing to sacrifice environmental goals, you know?)
And that still some people don’t get how this thing spreads. That part is really hard for me to relate to.
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I’m still taking unnecessary precautions like wiping down things as they come into the house.
I know it’s not necessary but I can’t bring myself to stop.
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So Pom Poko just threw a wrench in the ‘escaped from a lab theory’
(NY Times reprint)
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For the record, this is what Christian Drosten has been saying from the very first moment. I mentioned this early on in this sprawling topic.
The Atlantic has also a piece (paywalled);
It is also more than likely that SARS in 2003 came via raccoon dog farms. The trouble is: the market for the fur is quite important, financially. The fashion industry is relying on that fur.
ETA: German media coverage. Should do fine with GTranslate or DeepL.
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“In terms of a paradigm shift, we live with these airborne diseases, such as colds and flu. People used to live with more water-borne diseases, just accepting them as a way of life, until they realized you can start treating the water. Moving forward, I hope we start thinking about how we design indoor spaces and handle the air within,” Marr [Professor Linsey Marr, an environmental engineer and aerosol scientist studying viruses in the air at Virginia Tech] finishes.
This could be good for people who have sensitivities to perfumes and fragrances. Cleaner, fresher indoor air would help a lot.
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That would be great. Florence Nightingale was talking about the importance of indoor air quality a few days ago, but you know, she’s just a silly woman
But overall there does seem to have been a renewed or extra interest in IAQ through all this. It’s been nice to see some colleagues in the field finally get some attention for all the good research they do.
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I just had a flashback to a couple of incidents in office buildings early in my career. The first was when a co-worker pushed a misaligned ceiling tile back in place, giving him a close look at the gunk on the air vent next to it. The second was when a noise outside prompted a group to run over to the windows and see what was happening. We saw an accident, but couldn’t give any advice to the folks below (we were one floor above a bridge and the street beneath it), because the windows were all sealed shut. More attention to air quality beyond meeting basic OSHA guidelines would be great.
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- It took 13 days until I had a negative test.
I’m looking forward to get another one tomorrow.
This virus annoys the heck outta me.
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Was he wearing cloth clothes? Hazmat suit? Or stylish trash bags?
Anniversaries, eh? I’ve been mildly encouraged by the COVID stats in Ontario 
drifting slowly in the correct direction. That said, the Toronto Star is marking the 3 year point with a review of where things stand that packs a lot of bullet points.
… about 15 per cent of Canadians are still battling long COVID …
The pandemic delayed 22 million patient services, including one million surgeries …
Canada’s best-paid CEOs made an average of $14.3 million in 2021, exceeding the previous $11.8-million record set three years prior, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ report in January. The average worker saw a pay decline of two per cent after adjusting for inflation, compared to CEOs’ adjusted pay increase of 26 per cent.
between March and November 2021, misinformation contributed to vaccine hesitancy for an estimated 2.35 million people in Canada. — and also contributed to more than 2,800 Canadian deaths.
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While waiting for vaccine updates, I’m considering trying something different for situations where mask straps are a problem. Has anyone tried a strapless N95, and if so, were there any major issues with it?
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That looks like it might be great for glasses. My are always fogging- and slipping with the ear strings underneath.
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I use a cord that secures my mask straps behind my head. It relieves the pressure on my ears, because with glasses it was extra painful. I’m just hoping a strapless mask would be effective, so I can finally deal with this…
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There’s a sub reddit called masks4all, they swear by that strapless mask.
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