Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Labor and Industry
 
Board
Safety and Health Codes Board
 
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6/18/20  1:12 pm
Commenter: Chad Carlin

Mask rules don't make sense.
 

The proposed solution must be related to the problem.  What kind of cloth are the masks made of? Are bandanas OK? Is 6 ft enough distance? Is 7 ft safer? How does facial hair make a difference? If my life depended on avoiding this virus, I wouldn't trust anyone dispensing such poorly considered advice.  It may make people feel better but arbitrary distances without context and standardless mask requirements are ineffective. 

Here is an example of how silly this sounds to anyone who knows the earth is round. The droplets must move through the air or reach a surface to me communicated. The direction and velocity of the air between two people are a very important part of virus transmission. How does a 6ft distance without context make sense? It does if my life or the life on someone I care about is important.

I just left my dentist office this morning where I was asked to bring my own pen to sign forms. I like my dentist and I know they are doing their very best. Single use pens sounds thoughtful but 2 seconds of thought is woefully incomplete, if you consider that I had to touch the door handle on the way in. Just like everyone else that day or week. Of course, I had to take off my mask to have my teeth cleaned. 

I was at the post office yesterday. I complied with the mask requirements there along with other customers. I entered on from the side door where again, I had to touch the door handle. When I filled out the shipping forms, my hands necessarily came in contact with the work surface adjacent to the waiting line. With a steady stream of customers no one was disinfecting them. I also had to press the buttons on the pin pad to sign the digital release forms at the counter. The keypad itself was visibly gross from it's many users. It honestly looks like it hasn't been cleaned in weeks. I brought my own pen. 

Over the weekend, I dined out in Old Town Alexandria. They were not allowed to give us menus that weren't recyclable. What about the hand railing I used walking up or down the stairs? The door handle for the restroom? The edge of my chair that I grabbed to sit closer to the table? Of course no one at the table was wearing a mask while eating either. 

My point is that if anyone truly believes that virus is so dangerous that masks, arbitrary distancing and single use pens are the only thing protecting millions of Americans, why haven't door handles, railings and ATM PIN pads avoided scrutiny? 

Requiring masks without situational context or enforcing rules with such glaring gaps in effectively seems to only reinforce that you are more passionate about compliance that preventing the spread of a virus. 

CommentID: 80448