Thread by @lzj961

Last weekend I needed a new dishwasher installed, but the installation techs arrived wearing cloth masks, one with the mask falling off his face.
When I asked them to wear high-quality #N95s (which I offered), or at least something that would cover the nose, they REFUSED. 🧵

One of them said: "I'm the boss here and we wear our own masks. If you need us to wear something different we will leave, and you can wait until the pandemic is over to get a new dishwasher."

I should be able to keep the air in my own house safe. #COVID19 spreads in the air like smoke, when people breathe, talk, cough or sneeze and the virus can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours after an infected person leaves the room.

Wearing a high quality #N95 mask protects the wearer but only for about 2.5hrs if others around them are unmasked, and my baby can't wear a mask.
(h/t @JuliaRaifman for the slide)

Residents in the home include my parents who are both over 70 with chronic medical conditions, and two unvaccinated children under 5.

.@CDCDirector and @ashishkjha repeatedly insist that we have the tools to protect ourselves from #COVID19 but by downplaying the risk of COVID infection, you place vulnerable people, like my family members, in harm's way

At a bare minimum, public health policy should make it possible for people at high risk of illness and death from COVID to protect ourselves while getting our basic needs met.

Even for low risk folks, #LongCovid may affect 1 in 5 people.

And vaccines only decrease the risk of Long COVID by 15% at best.

bit.ly/MMWR7121

We are still in a surge... as @MWRA_update local #Massachusetts wastewater data shows, current numbers haven't dipped much below the mid-May peak which was as high as the delta surge in August 2021.

The latest @PeoplesCDC weekly weather report shows that the entire nation is in a surge with over 94% of the country at high or substantial rates of transmission according to the @CDCgov

https://twitter.com/PeoplesCDC/status/1539786385669980161?s=20&t=joFlFFc2zCVwwVkda4uZ3Q

No one should have to wait until the pandemic is over for vital household repairs.
Large companies like @Bestbuy should guarantee safe services for both customers and employees

And @CDCDirector @ashishkjha and other public health leadership should be telling the public that using layerd protections like masks, and improved ventilation can effectively prevent disability and death from #COVID19.

As @heavyredaction and @kilojoule_ point out, this moment is not normal. We should not and cannot pretend our way out of this pandemic. salon.com/2022/06/26/bid…

The only way out of the pandemic is to put the public back in public health @DrTomori @AzizaAhmed thelancet.com/journals/eclin… (fin)

Sorry correction… an N95 only protects you for 1.25 hours alone if the other person is unmasked

Folks have been asking what I did in response. I told the man that this it our private property, and we should be able to keep it safe. We already had air purifiers running and windows open. That's when he walked out.

That's when he declared he wouldn't help, but then he said the dishwasher we ordered was too tall and wouldn't fit anyway and we would have to order a new one. So we called @BestBuy and cancelled.

Thanks for the encouragement! Next time I will specify, people have to wear masks inside my house or I take my business elsewhere

Sorry there isn’t enough room in Twitter posts to give great context. I do want to clarify that the person said “I’m the boss” when I asked his coworker to discuss with his colleague and consider whether they would switch masks.