#masks — Public Fediverse posts

#Mastodon voice messages?

"Make social vocal" ?

#Idea #suggestion #BOOST #dev

Voice #filters added for #privacy?
(like #TikTok funny voice masks but more human sounding?)

= voice messages + #masks / filters ?

(a risk but much more #progressive #P2P)

Protection with a voice 'mask'.

What do you think ?

(Text is limited = can't cover the human expression range like voice and for some text isn't possible / too hard).

Also #Jitsi (https://meet.osna.social/) + integrated voice #masks?

Skirnir (ca. 1924) by Minya Diez-Dührkoop.

Source: MKG Collection Online

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/3e19cdc1-ed61-4ddf-9f73-598206241fd2

#masks #pain #costumes #weimar #dance #armor #sitting #theatre #swords #suicide #knights #photography #art #publicdomain

Various creatures that I transformed into at #FantasyForest this past weekend - a great festival with a lovely atmosphere!

#Costume #Masks #RenFaire #Music #Fantasy

'Dangerous' air quality in Detroit, Minneapolis as thick wildfire smoke shrouds the sky for millions

Smoke from wildfires burning in Ontario have caused air quality to reach "dangerous" levels across Canada, and the northeastern and midwestern United States. And it could get worse before conditions improve.

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist

Published Jul 15, 2026 11:50 AM EDT | Updated Jul 16, 2026

" Massive plumes of smoke are descending across parts of Canada and the United States, creating dangerous air quality and scenes reminiscent of the historic wildfire smoke outbreak from three summers ago.

" 'In 2023, a major fire outbreak in Quebec caused days of unhealthy air quality in the northeastern U.S.,' AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said. 'This event could cause similar levels of poor air quality in spots.'

"Air quality alerts have been issued for millions of people, including across all of #Connecticut, #Delaware, #Massachusetts, #Michigan, #NewHampshire, #NewJersey, #NewYork, #Ohio, #Pennsylvania, #RhodeIsland and #Wisconsin.

"Over 800 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, including dozens that are out of control across western #Ontario, the source of most of the smoke. 'Many of these fires may have been started by lightning,' AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.

"On Wednesday, #Toronto had some of the worst air quality in North America, reaching 'very unhealthy' levels with an AQI of 220. #BostonMA was not far behind with an unhealthy AQI of 147.

" 'When the AQI climbs into the 150+ range for a full day outside, that’s in the ballpark of [smoking] 7 to 9 cigarettes,' Dr. Jonathan M. Tan, division chief of General Anesthesiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told AccuWeather.

"Conditions deteriorated by Thursday morning, with widespread "dangerous" air quality across nearly all the Great Lakes region and into parts of the Northeast. Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, as well as Detroit, were among the worst cities at daybreak Thursday, with AQIs over 340.

" 'Any exposure to the air, even for a few minutes, can lead to serious health effects on everybody,' Plume Labs said.
Avoid outdoor activities.' "

Read more:
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/dangerous-air-quality-in-detroit-minneapolis-as-thick-wildfire-smoke-shrouds-the-sky-for-millions/1911870

#CanadianWildfires #CRBox #AirQuality
#WildfireSmoke #AQI #HEPAFilters #CorsiRosenthalBox #AirCleaners #Masks #ParticulateMatter #RespiratorMasks #StayIndoors #HazardousAir #AirQualityAlert

Canadian #wildfire smoke turns air hazardous in the US #Midwest. Officials say stay inside

By TAMMY WEBBER and PHILIP MARCELO, July 16, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — "Heavy, pungent smoke from #CanadianWildfires darkened skies in the U.S. on Thursday from the #GreatLakes to parts of the #EastCoast, reducing visibility for commuters and prompting warnings that air quality could make being outside dangerous.

"#Detroit’s air quality was among the worst in the world for major cities, as a lingering high pressure system trapped smoke from dozens of fires in Canada and northern Minnesota, said Steven Freitag, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pontiac, Michigan.

" 'Sure enough, it arrived in force here and it’s really pretty extreme levels,' said Freitag, who noted that visibility in some areas was reduced to a half mile.

"Omar Mitchell wore a mask as he walked to his restaurant in Detroit. He said he urged his employees to do the same.

" 'It’s scary,' Mitchell, 50, said as he looked at the sky. 'You don’t know necessarily what the side effects may be. That’s days or months later.'

"Cities across the Great Lakes states registered air quality ranging from unhealthy to hazardous — which means it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to heart and lung problems and contributing to other long-term health issues.

"All of #Michigan and much of #Minnesota were under a hazardous #AirQualityAlert. In the Chicago area, air quality ranged from very unhealthy to hazardous.

"National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said even if winds from the northwest clear skies as expected later this week, the smoky air could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take weeks or longer.

" 'Anytime we have something that could bring air from that region until the fires are over, it could conceivably dip back into the area,' Petr said.

"In #SaintPaulMN, the air was 'glowing yellow,' said Brent Williams, head of the soil, water and climate department at the University of Minnesota, who said the area 'could be looking at weeks to months of continued smoke and flare-ups off and on as the winds blow in different directions.'

"A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly health issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death."

https://apnews.com/article/canada-wildfires-smoke-us-ae4b2bd09a97919a081e26ede6a6d355

#CRBox #AirQuality #WildfireSmoke #AQI #HEPAFilters #CorsiRosenthalBox #AirCleaners #Masks #ParticulateMatter #RespiratorMasks #StayIndoors #ThanksBigOil

The Dance of Dissonance

Sometimes 
I find myself lost
at the end of 
a confusing day 
trying to decipher labyrinthian relations 
and coming up short,
suddenly wondering 
how a day I thought good 
was not for another,
caught up in 
opposing realities 
where mine is suspect
and empathy is a struggle.

The brain fog 
of past illness 
has left its trailing 
fingers over my head
like the cigarette smoke 
of the man I see one morning standing with his back to me on the dock outside the store where I used to work 
and I wonder why he is there. 

I am suspicious, feeling responsible for what is no longer mine to care about, so I observe, yet remain at a distance and leave without really discovering if his presence is innocent. 

Such is the dance of dissonance.
I am close enough to see your back but too far to see your face clearly,
afraid that if I look too closely I will not like what  I see or that I will recognize some ugly part of me.

I want to hear 
that which runs 
counter to my experience 
but I must be honest and say that my capacity to understand the complexities of human behavior is diminishing. 

I long for circles that are completely safe,
where the people I pass on the walk home illicit in me feelings other than fear,
lust, guilt, or judgement,
all of which mirror 
the overwhelming sense
of dislike
I feel from the
world, and from myself perhaps.

It is my inability to not receive everything personally, this overwhelming sadness,  unprotected by my hypervigilance, where I still seem to miss what is most important, and no matter how much I try to hold everything together, I cannot keep things from unraveling. 

How do I continue to remain caring and yet not take on burdens that are not mine to carry? 

This then is the strange choreography of relationship, the stumbling herky-jerky movements of a marionette pulled by invisible strings, revealed in the bright lights of another angry stage.

Yet we dance. 
Through the pain of revelation.
The occasional stepping on of toes.
In the percieved exposure of audience eyes.
Shedding these inadequate masks and costumes one by one.
Finding our own rhythm in the strange movings of this particular 
circle of love.

Beg: June 5, 2026 
Fin: June 30, 2026

Some of us enjoy Social Distancing so much, we've continued our Covid Habits to the present. Old Farts of the Stone Arch Players' regular Friday morning Zoom Call. #socialdistancing #covid #covidhealthhabits #covidhabits #pandemic #epidemic #worldpandemic #worldpandemics #health #KeepPoliticsOutOfHealthcare #masks #mask #masking #spit #germs #sharinggerms #zoomcall #zoomcalls #socialdistance #sixfeet #distance #germwarfare #lysol #tilex #oldfarts #oldfart #communitytheater #communitytheatre

#WritersCoffeeClub 5/13 If writing wasn’t your thing, what would your thing be?

If I wasn't writing (novels, stories, or plays) I'd probably have a lot of fun with sculpting. I got motivated to make some latex Commedia masks a few years back and really enjoy it!

You make a clay model first, then cover it in plaster to make a mold, then pour in the latex up to the brim of the mold for about 40 min, then pour it out, let the film dry (1-2 days) and gently peel off a new face!

Cut, paint, and enjoy! It's rather satisfying.

#CommediaDelArte #Masks #Sculpting

Friday, January 2, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/01/friday-january-2-2026/

RADIO CAMPUS ACADEMY #08 – L’impro et faire du JDR sans JDR (feat. Les Imagitateurs)

Le huitième épisode de notre émission Radio Campus Academy est désormais disponible au format podcast.

Une émission de discussions à la cool autour du jeu de rôle ! Ce mois-ci nous recevons l’équipe de la chaîne Les Imagitateurs du JDR ! Jennnyyyy, Eric et Meriks jouent la plus part du temps en total improvisation et leurs actual plays ne se reposent sur aucun jdr existant ! Ils viennent nous parlez de leur façon de faire et de leur vision du JDR !
On en profite aussi pour faire le point sur les actus de la JDR ACADEMY, des gros bisous et des petits recos tendance horreur !

Leur chaine : https://www.youtube.com/@lesimagitateursdujdr5869
Leur discord : https://discord.gg/DNHdqT2z

L’émission est enregistrée une fois par mois en live !
N’oubliez pas de vous abonner pour ne rien manquer des prochains épisodes et de partager vos retours avec nous en commentaire ou sur nos réseaux sociaux.

Radio Campus Academy, c’est votre nouveau rendez-vous mensuel pour parler jeu de rôle !

Vous pouvez nous soutenir sur Patreon

Retrouvez tous les épisodes de la JDR Academy sur www.jdracademy.com

Et si vous souhaitez revivre l’expérience avec la version vidéo, le live est toujours disponible sur notre chaîne YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq0aCZfksBk

https://jdracademy.fr/radio-campus-academy-08-limpro-et-faire-du-jdr-sans-jdr-feat-les-imagitateurs/

#ActualPlay #add #add3 #alt236 #ApocalypseWorld #blacksad #bloodMoon #bluePrince #campus #collection #debats #discussions #drama #dungeonCrawlCarl #emissionLive #enDirect #feldup #gouTanabe #improvisation #isekai #jdr #jenga #jeuDeRôle #laLicorne #lastOfUs #leGrandJd #leRoiLion #lesImagitateurs #liminal #live #Lovecraft #maladie #masks #MonsterOfTheWeek #Monsterhearts #neuralnoise #nouvelle #octogones #OSR #PbtA #perception #playToLose #podcast #radio #reincarnatedAsASword #Riley #sherlockCthulhu #shieldHero #spidergro #stacklands #talk #talkShow #tchat #tenCandle #theBetween #Valkann #xFiles #YouTube #zombies

RADIO CAMPUS ACADEMY #07 – Systèmes de jeu et joie de l’Aléatoire

Le septième épisode de notre émission Radio Campus Academy est désormais disponible au format podcast.

Une émission de discussions à la cool autour du jeu de rôle ! Pour cette rentrée, on se réunit entre membres de l’académie pour revenir sur l’actualité du podcast, discuter systèmes de jeu et des bienfaits de l’aléatoire, vous recommandez des trucs chouettes et finir avec des gros bisous ! Encore un bon podcast !

L’émission est enregistrée une fois par mois en live !
N’oubliez pas de vous abonner pour ne rien manquer des prochains épisodes et de partager vos retours avec nous en commentaire ou sur nos réseaux sociaux.

Radio Campus Academy, c’est votre nouveau rendez-vous mensuel pour parler jeu de rôle !

Vous pouvez nous soutenir sur Patreon

Retrouvez tous les épisodes de la JDR Academy sur www.jdracademy.com

Et si vous souhaitez revivre l’expérience avec la version vidéo, le live est toujours disponible sur notre chaîne YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIUs3-McpWc

https://jdracademy.fr/radio-campus-academy-07-systemes-de-jeu-et-joie-de-laleatoire/

#ActualPlay #add #add3 #ApocalypseWorld #blacksad #bloodMoon #bluePrince #campus #collection #debats #discussions #drama #dungeonCrawlCarl #emissionLive #enDirect #gouTanabe #isekai #jdr #jenga #jeuDeRôle #laLicorne #lastOfUs #leRoiLion #live #Lovecraft #maladie #masks #MonsterOfTheWeek #Monsterhearts #neuralnoise #nouvelle #OSR #PbtA #perception #playToLose #podcast #radio #reincarnatedAsASword #Riley #shieldHero #spidergro #stacklands #talk #talkShow #tchat #tenCandle #theBetween #Valkann #xFiles #YouTube #zombies

State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #NorthDakota

SB 2044: Heightened penalties for #protests near #CriticalInfrastructure

Enhances potential penalties for individuals who protest near existing and planned gas and oil #pipelines by criminalizing acts that interrupt or interfere with critical infrastructure facilities. In addition to prohibiting actual tampering with critical infrastructure property and equipment, the law prohibits "interfering, inhibiting, impeding, or preventing the construction or repair" of a critical infrastructure facility. Further, the law expands the definition of "critical infrastructure facility" to include a "site or location designated or approved for the construction of a facility" such as an oil or gas pipeline. Intentional interruption of a critical infrastructure facility, including by interfering with pipeline construction, is a Class C felony under the law, subject to a penalty of five years' imprisonment, a fine of $10,000, or both. The law also creates organizational liability for such acts: An organization found to have "conspired" with an individual who committed the interference could be criminally liable for ten times the fee imposed on the individual, or up to $100,000.

Status: enacted

Introduced 3 Jan 2019; Approved by Senate 15 Feb 2019; Approved by House 25 March 2019; Signed by Governor Burgum 10 April 2019

Issue(s): Protest Supporters or Funders, Infrastructure

HB 1426: Heightened penalties for #riot offences

Increases the penalties imposed for riot offenses. Under the law, participation in a riot is a Class A rather than Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $3,000 fine. Engaging in a riot involving more than 100 people is made a Class B felony, subject to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Full text of bill [pdf]:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-8158-02000.pdf

Status: enacted

Introduced 16 Jan 2017; Governor Burgum signed the law on 23 Feb 2017

Issue(s): Riot

HB 1293: Expanded scope of criminal trespass

Expands the scope of criminal trespass activity under state law such that it could encompass protests, demonstrations, or other gatherings on private property, if notice against trespass is "clear from the circumstances." The offense could be punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine. The law also creates an additional, noncriminal trespass offense and allows officers to issue a citation with a $250 fine for trespassing. The law was part of a package of legislation introduced in response to the #DakotaAccessPipeline protests.

Full text of bill [pdf]:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-0650-04000.pdf

Status: enacted

Introduced 12 Jan 2017; Signed by Governor Burgum 23 Feb 2017

Issue(s): Trespass

HB 1304: New penalties for protesters who conceal their identity

Prohibits the wearing of #masks, #hoods, or other device that "conceals any portion" of an individual's face while committing a criminal offense, in order to avoid recognition or identification. As drafted, the offense could encompass, e.g., individuals wearing hooded clothing while participating in a protest and also committing a minor offense such as jaywalking. Under the law, commission of the offense comprises a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

Full text of bill [pdf]:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/65-2017/documents/17-0311-04000.pdf

Status: enacted

Introduced 12 Jan 2017; Governor Burgum signed it 23 Feb 2017

Issue(s): Face Covering

HB 1226: New criminal penalties for masked protesters

Would create a new criminal offense that could cover peaceful protesters who choose to wear a mask. The bill would make it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and $3,000, to wear a mask “with intent to conceal the identity” of the wearer while “congregating in a public place with any other individual wearing a mask, hood, or other device that covers, hides, or conceals any portion of the individual’s face.” The bill exempts public gatherings to celebrate “Halloween, a masquerade, or other similar celebration,” but does not include exemptions for masks worn during protests, or for health, religious, or other reasons. As written, the bill could cover a protester wearing a mask to avoid retaliation for their political speech, if there were any other individual in the crowd also wearing a mask—for instance, a medical mask to avoid spreading or contracting a contagious disease.

Full text of bill:
https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/bill-overview/bo1226.html?bill_year=2025&bill_number=1226

Status: ENACTED!

Introduced 13 Jan 2025; Approved by House 10 February 2025

Issue(s): Face Covering

#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests #MaskedProtesters #AntiMaskLaws #SurveillanceState #PipelineProtests #NoDAPL

The War on #Masks Has Taken on a New Meaning

This time, the masks have nothing to do with #COVID19.

By Henry Grabar
Feb 05, 20254:57 PM

"Last month, state legislators in New York introduced a bill that would create a new crime: 'masked harassment.'

"That, the law explains, is when you wear a mask 'for the primary purpose of menacing or threatening violence against another person' or 'placing another person or group of persons in reasonable fear for their physical safety.'

"If that seems like a bit of a niche offense—threatening violence is already a crime, after all—it’s because the language has been watered down to attract political support. It’s a sign of New York Democrats’ cautious new approach over masks in public life, and a retreat from last spring, when anti-Israel protests, on top of a widespread urban crime panic, pushed leaders from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to consider mask bans.

"In its original form, the New York bill would have banned masks at public assemblies entirely. But the outcry from #DisabilityRights advocates, #CriminalJustice reformers, #HealthCareWorkers, and #CivilLiberties groups was swift, and so New York wound up with this bill on 'masked harassment' instead.

"Elsewhere, the pandemic-era leniency on masking in public is over. #NorthCarolina Republicans overrode a gubernatorial veto last summer to once again #BanPublicFaceCoverings, except to stop the spread of contagious diseases. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost dusted off an old law to threaten #StudentProtesters with #felonies. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked the state’s Senate to consider a bill to #unmask #protesters this year.

"For Republicans, it’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone. They can strike back against the perceived overreach of pandemic-era #HealthDirectives and make it easier to arrest #demonstrators at the same time.

"In #Ohio and North Carolina, the original statutes were written in the 1950s to stop demonstrations by the #KuKluxKlan, but had been ignored or suspended during the #pandemic and the #GeorgeFloydProtests. Many lawmakers have cited the recent demonstrations in defense of #Gaza as a reason to crack down again. Defending the proposed mask ban in New York, Anti-Defamation League [#ADL] president Jonathan Greenblatt said the demonstrators were using '#KKK tactics' to intimidate Jewish New Yorkers.

"That instinct was bolstered by the sense among many city residents and elected leaders that widespread masking was a factor behind the pandemic-era crime spike. That led to #Philadelphia banning #SkiMasks in parks, on trains, and in public buildings. A more recent, high-profile example came in December with the Midtown Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO #BrianThompson by a #MaskedAssassin, which prompted New York Mayor Eric Adams to call for cab drivers and business owners to ask customers to remove their masks. The new New York bill has won over the liberal Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who endorsed the 'tailored' approach. As the police say: #NoFaceNoCase.

"For what it’s worth, there are too many confounding variables and too little data to be sure if mask-wearing is associated with crime, said Ernesto Lopez at the Council for Criminal Justice, which collects crime reporting statistics from various cities. 'From a theoretical statement it makes sense that could occur, but it has not been demonstrated that’s the case,' he told me.

"But if all that weighed in favor of more mask bans, there was also widespread resistance. Disability advocates mobilized to defend the right to mask; North Carolina had to write a medical exemption into their bill at the insistence of a GOP House member. #PoliceReformers observed that #MaskBans have often been used for pretextual #policing and racial profiling against #BlackAmericans. (#AtlantaGeorgia tabled a mask ban for that reason.)

"What looms largest, as the second Trump administration begins, is the role of protest. As Semafor’s Dave Weigel has noted, masks have become a badge of left-wing protest culture. That’s in part an extension of politicized COVID-era concerns about health and civility, but at this point it is mostly a tactic to preserve anonymity in an era of #FacialRecognition, streaming video, and #doxing. Last year, the anonymous #ProIsrael website the #CanaryMission posted photographs of hundreds of students and faculty at campus protests and posted their names and photos online, labeling some as supporters of terrorism.

"'The concern takes on new urgency as Donald Trump pledges to revoke the visas of pro-Palestine protesters, and the Trump-Musk GOP embraces the naming and shaming of otherwise private citizens. A conservative group called the American Accountability Foundation has begun circulating lists of federal workers, many of them Black, who should be
'targets' for their alleged involvement in #DEI initiatives at work.

"Clearly, the masked protest does not always sit well with an older generation, many of whom cut their teeth in the protests of the pre-internet age. As Georgetown professor Michael Kazin told the New York Times last year: 'I do think if you are going to demonstrate, and it’s something you feel deeply about, you should be willing to stand up and be counted.'"

Source:
https://slate.com/business/2025/02/mask-bans-new-york-los-angeles-crime-protests-criminalize-face-coverings.html?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#Fascism #AuthoritarianRule #BigBrother #BigBrotherIsWatchingYou #SurveillanceState #SilencingDissent

@Lurkle @shansterable

Since I want d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) people to be able to lip-read, I'm awaiting my OmniMask from https://www.omnimask.com

SeeUs95 is another option, or CleanSpace (HALO and other models) is expensive even for used headsets.

Otherwise Flow Mask or similar reusables are definitely the way to go.
Might even be able to 3D print parts of it, if you have willing friends to 3D model / sculpt / produce them.

#DIY #mask #WearADamnMask #Masks #MasksWork #BringBackMasks #respirator #PAPR #OmniMask #SeeUs95 #CleanSpacePAPR

In a world where we often hide behind carefully crafted #masks, embracing #vulnerability and revealing our true selves takes courage. This #bold portrait session is more than just a #photoshoot—it’s a journey of self-discovery, transforming #fear into empowering art: https://zorz.it/shedding

#visionary #unmasking #selfdiscovery #mindfulness #selfreflection #empowerment #womanpower #authenticity #trueself #transformation #ZorzStudios #GetZorzed #dramatic #PortraitPhotography #confidence #beauty

More on the NC Senate voting, 30-15, to make wearing masks illegal. https://www.wral.com/amp/21433199/ #masks #politics #antimaskers

Ah yes, this old trick. Rally support for a law for one thing, but actually use it for something else. Basically it makes wearing a mask in public illegal.

https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewDocSiteFile/87480 #masks #antimaskers

Global News BC: B.C. to reinstate mask mandate in all health-care settings https://globalnews.ca/news/9990387/bc-mask-mandate-health-care-settings-2023/ #globalnews #britishcolumbia #news #Maskinginhealthcaresettings #covidinfections #bcmasksmandate #bcmaskmandate #COVIDMasking #MedicalMasks #maskmandate #Health #COVID #Masks

New eligibility for PCR testing in Ontario.
#Covid symptoms plus
➡️Everyone >60y
➡️>18y with a high-risk condition
➡️>18y with <2 vaccine doses
➡️>18y with >6m since last vaccine or last Covid infection
➡️ all the previously eligible groups (frontline workers, pregnant people, people who are immunocompromised etc)

https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-testing-and-treatment

#Paxlovid eligibility expanded too (same page, scroll down):
➡️Everyone >60y
➡️>18y with a high-risk condition or immunocompromised
➡️>18y with <2 vaccine doses
➡️>18y with >6m since last vaccine or last Covid infection

Where to get tested:
https://www.ontario.ca/assessment-centre-locations

Self-certify 'I'm eligible' if you are in one of those groups.

In #HamOnt|Hamilton

https://www.stjoes.ca/coronavirus/covid-19-test-home

Don't rely on test-and-treat or vaccination. Prevent community transmission to a vulnerable person and prevent #LongCovid with #Masks and #Ventilation

#BetterMasks #MasksWork

#SystemsApproaches #CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver.#DoAllTheThings #ventilation #filtration #PaidSickDays #BringBackMasks #WearAMask #MasksSaveLives #MaskeAuf #MaskUp #MaskMandate #MaskMandateNow #CovidLong #LongCovid #N95s #n95 #FFP2 #ffp3 #n99 #CovidTesting #BringBackTesting

https://maskevidence.org/why-masks-matter

#sarscov2 is #airborne

#Minimizers say
if a #virus was #compromising
everyone's
#immunesystems,
we'd be seeing
a massive #wave
of really #sick people.

Then they say this massive wave
of sick people
we're seeing
was caused
by #masks and #lockdowns.

When you show them #studies,
they repeat their first argument

😭

Source

https://twitter.com/JessicaLexicus/status/1617610540444160000?t=e7WPHXRHvWliB6OhXhv9Ag&s=19

https://twitter.com/AndrewEwing11/status/1617662530624847875?t=e7WPHXRHvWliB6OhXhv9Ag&s=19

https://twitter.com/SourceControl21/status/1617820995494236162?t=y9X-KqFU7jBJd2K3qV1rtA&s=19

Today is the third anniversary of the first confirmed #Covid-19 case in the US. As good a day as any to write a long and rambly essay about the current state of the nineteenth crow. I’m going to begin and end on a personal note, with some #science in the middle.

Almost my entire adult life has been dedicated to keeping people alive. I became a #medic for a number of reasons, but most directly because a friend was murdered: if there was any way I could keep another close circle of young, healthy people with a reasonable expectation of living for decades more from having to gather to mourn one of their own, I would.

So. First as a medic, then a #biotech #programmer, and now a #bioinformatics #researcher, my goal has been quite consistent. Everyone dies—but if we can claw back just a little more time, a few more years or days or hours, that is a victory in the war that never ends. As my fiancee says in another context, a slap in the face of a forgetful future. Only our deeds live after us. There is no greater deed than life itself.

For all that time, I’ve known there was another #plague coming. It was inevitable. One aspect of the medic’s war is the arms race, and pathogens have one hell of an R&D program. We can win skirmishes, and sometimes battles, and occasionally even a campaign. They’ll keep coming back, with mindless determination and terrifying numbers.

What I didn’t know, couldn’t even imagine, was what the primary obstacle to that particular phase of the war would be. I thought the challenges would be technical: spotting the #outbreak, identifying the #pathogen, learning its strengths and weaknesses, developing preventions and treatments, getting #medicine out to where it’s needed most. You know, science stuff.

Those are all challenges with covid, to be sure. But it turns the biggest problem is willful, deliberate, self-imposed, homicidal and suicidal stupidity.

I’ve written at length about my opinions of #antimaskers and #antivaxers, and no doubt I will again. The short version is, they’re traitors to humanity. I’ve given up trying to reason with them. Best to concentrate on what I can control: my own work, the knowledge I gain from others in the field, and the information I provide to people who are willing to listen. Eventually the traitors will benefit too, however little they deserve it.

Okay, on to the facts. The data I’ll be discussing are #US-centric. I live here, it’s my primary area of concern, and it’s what I know the most about. Readers in other countries, please feel free to comment on similarities and differences.

1. There were massive spikes in January 2021 and January 2022: here is a nice visualization. At the peaks, 2022’s spike was more than three times as bad as 2021’s. On the other hand, there were only (only!) about three-quarters as many deaths in 2022. I suspect there are a few things going on here:

   • New Year’s celebrations both years, but especially in 2022, packed a lot of people together in small spaces. This is of course a recipe for mass infection.

   • Prevalence of the omicron strain in 2022, which is generally more infectious but less lethal than other strains.

   • More masks in 2021, preventing infection but doing nothing to reduce severity, compared to much more #vaccination but fewer #masks in 2022.

2. As of September, Republicans were dying of covid almost twice as fast as Democrats, controlling for age. Of course it’s not being a Republican that kills you: it’s not being #vaccinated. Antivax has become an ideological purity test for a substantial portion of the Republican Party, and those who try to both-sides this issue have their heads buried so far in the sand they’re hitting bedrock.

3. New #variants haven’t been much in the news lately. That’s not because #SARS-CoV-2 has stopped mutating. It’s because what we call #omicron has now mutated so much that it now has more genetic diversity than all the others put together. Tracking variants by letter made sense in the early stages of the pandemic, but now we could go through the entire Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Arabic, and every other alphabet and still run out. As a practical matter, this means we’ll need at-least-annual #booster shots forever.

4. In June 2022, we passed a little-remarked milestone: total US covid deaths in people under 30 surpassed total US #military deaths in #Afghanistan and #Iraq, in a similar demographic over a much shorter time. Older people are more likely to die of covid, sure. Older people are more likely to die of everything. Youth will not save you.

There is some good news. The January spikes mentioned in item #1 seem so far not to be materializing this year, although we’ll have to wait until the data for the entire month have been sifted to be sure. I doubt people are getting any more careful, but 70-80% of the US population is vaccinated, depending on how you count: maybe that’s enough for a meaningful degree of herd #immunity.

Older #vaccines aren’t as effective against newer strains as newer vaccines tailored to those #strains, but they still help. With any vaccination on board, you’re less likely to get infected, and less likely to die if you do. Keep getting boosters, and your #immune system will build up a kind of library: “oh, this isn’t exactly like anything I’ve seen before, but it looks kind of like this thing I read about, so …”

We can’t make antivaxers go away. They’ll always be there, acting as a reservoir for infection and a breeding ground for new strains. Sure, they’ll die at a much higher rate, but more of them will live, largely thanks to the heroic efforts of the science they reject. What we can do, to a degree, is work around them.

Back to the personal.

I’ve lost a few friends, and I know many people who have lost family, to #antimask / #antivax lunacy. I understand the pain and anger and confusion. Stay strong. Maybe one day before we’re all dead, this will be over and reconciliation will be possible, if we choose to extend such grace. Not today, and not for a long time to come.

Any person, any family, any circle of friends, any gathering, any business, any government … all are more than justified in exiling these traitors forever. When they are those we love, grief is inevitable. But the people we loved are already dead. Our job is to avoid joining them.

Let’s be careful out there.

Three or four mRNAs, the #bivalent booster—virtually useless against #XBB infection

That’s what this study in The Lancet tells us :holdthepain:

In the US, “‘fully vaccinated” means having the bivalent

#Novavax wasn’t examined in this study, would be interesting to know how it does

#Masks #socialdistancing #covid19 #pandemic #WhatIsHappening

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00831-3/fulltext

@TRyanGregory Key paragraph:

“The authors cautioned that HCWs could have been infected outside of the hospital and that the results may not apply to other countries because of differences in treatment effects.” /2

#covid #covid-19 #masks #study #inconclusive #poorDesign

If you ran an electric current through a fine material like silk to make #masks that were almost transparent but that magnetised and electocuted the small particles of moisture such that…

You know what… no.

We only posted this here in case someone ever thought it could be #patented.

#publicRealmNowBitch #notCreative #fuckYourPatent #patents #semiTransparentMasks #transparentMasks #patentLaw

Canadians, do you want your jobs and your lawful freedoms back?
Do you want the vax passport and the fines to be dropped?
Do you want to be on the right side of history and of the law?
Yes? With enough signatures, this Memorandum of Agreement can do all that and then some!
If you said yes - then please help defend our Canadian lawful freedom of choice and #SignTheMOU!

#Canada #Covid1984 #covid #pandemic #plandemic #clotshot #mandates #VaccinePassport #masks

https://canada-unity.com/mou/

Yes, they exist in Canada — anti-maskers.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/protesters-ride-ttc-without-masks-to-call-for-an-end-to-mandatory-face-coverings-in-toronto-1.5013943

#antimaskers #masks #covid

The Lovers – Street Art by Pøbel in Bryne, Norway (3 photos)

https://streetartutopia.com/2020/03/27/street-art-by-pobel-in-bryne-norway-3-photos/

Today we bought gesso for the seemingly never ending project of making #theater masks.

A couple more steps and we should have some fun new things to bring to the lab.

#clown
#masks
#lecocq