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Comment by traceroute66 | Hacker News Reader

If the photo is accurate, I can't imagine anyone seriously using those masks !

If I got a box of masks that looked like it was previously worn by a chimney-sweep, I would either return them to the seller or dispose of them. They look filthy !

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When you enter a medical institution here, the security make you exchange your current mask for a new one they give you. If you refuse, they don't let you in and you miss your appointment so its not like you get a "choice" about taking them. Anyways that's my story of how I got exposed, hooray!

Yeah, I was asked to remove my NOISH N95 and put on a surgical mask. How about no?

Kaiser has this policy when getting an in person test. I have n95s so I simply put the disposable blue thing over my main one. (another needed story I think at least some are counterfeit)

If it really says NOISH, it's a counterfeit. Heh.

I have a 3M filter number 2091 with a fab date in 2017. It's clearly stamped with NIOSH.

Got a source on your claim?

Edit 2: I missed the joke :)

I assume they are making a joke about how you initially wrote NOISH.

NOISH != NIOSH.

My medical facility let me put on the surgical mask over the N95 (the guy handing them out actually suggested it when I was obviously hesitant to exchange). It's at least worth a try next time - double masking, FTW?

For those downvoting without comment: huh, really?

A surgical mask provides demonstrably worse protection vs N95, and doubling them up adds a bit to the protection of both the wearer and the surrounding people, as well as complying with their rule, which allows double masking.

Activated carbon masks are used for filtering volatile vapors. They aren't needed in a medical environment.

Also, according to the article, "some daycare educators had been suspicious of these grey and blue masks for a while because they felt like they were swallowing cat hair while wearing them."

People must have been ordered to wear them; who would wear these by choice?

This is why Governments shouldn't be allowed to force these sort of things. Governments can be and often are wrong.

Also add to this potential influence by malicious actors.

The government didn't force anyone to use these masks in particular, they were just given for free. Hospitals sometimes forced you to use their own masks when entering the premise but even private hospitals did that on their own, but in daycares and schools these just happened to be free so people use them to save money.

What? That is a genuinely optimistic statement.

The "forcing" way through brute shaming and various 'strict guidelines of social distancing'

Much forcing all around...

I live in the province in question.

The issue isn't wearing masks, it's specifically those masks, which around I think around 1% of the masks in circulation.

All other masks are fine. By and large, the government itself doesn't force anyone to wear those masks instead of others.

Let me just say, it's nice to see a sane comment every once in a while. The world seems to have gone completely off the deep end and is throwing itself at the mercy of petty authoritarian bureaucrats.

And governments are also largely immune (pun intended) from prosecution once their error is revealed.

Who governs the government!? Surely a disarmed population.

Give an example of an armed population which has effectively governed its government.

Well, at the moment that hardly seems relevant since the arms governments worldwide have are SO radically powerful as to completely imbalance the relationship. Not merely physical are their weapons either.

Thankfully I'm starting to read sane comments again. Yes.

No, people weren't ordered to wear them. Daycare educators are largely independent of the government beyond inspections every few months and heavy subsidies.

The masks were given for free, and there is a mask mandate. Daycares used free government provided masks instead of their own to save money.

Neither would I, but it seems like a thing for some masks to include charcoal so maybe people are thinking it's that and some just leaked out?

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