coffeebean

I have never had difficulty understanding anyone who is wearing a mask. Having said that, when the masks come off, most people, not even realizing they do it, read lips when speaking to people. They do it even if they have perfect hearing. From Dr. Google.............. Do hearing people read lips? Although lip reading is used most extensively by deaf and hard-of-hearing people, most people with normal hearing process some speech information from sight of the moving mouth.

That was utter foolishness for the guy in the kayak in the middle of the water with no one around him. So glad the mask mandate is lifted for the crew.

Cases and deaths were at a peak when the virus was much more virulent than the variant that is circulating now.

Hope you both feel better soon and get that negative test.

So I'm to understand that your choice will be to mask for the unforeseen future. Have at it. And......unless you are wearing an N95 mask, your efforts are futile.

But....if they wear N95 masks, you really shouldn't have to wear a mask if you distance from them. A vulnerable person wearing anything other than an N95 mask is like not bothering at all to protect themselves. What type of masks do your friends and family wear?

I can't believe I'm saying this but....that is not my concern at all. There are probably millions of people walking around with Covid and they may not know it or don't care or haven't tested and think it is just a cold or who knows what the reason is. This variant we have now is not nearly as virulent as the original strain or the Delta strain. I was just making a point to another poster that testing once a week would probably "catch" a positive test. I was asked how often should a person test to know if they have ever had Covid and that was my answer......probably once a week. What a person does with the information is up to them.

Weekly is a good indication. Usually, when someone tests positive, it will take 10 days to test negative. So once a week would "catch" that positive test.

Day 11 after the onset of symptoms, I tested negative. I tested 48 hours later and got another negative test. That is a CDC guideline so I did that test 48 hours after the first negative test.

Oops. That was a mistake on my part.

You should have made friends with someone who owns a comb. LOL.

Those folks who are vulnerable, AKA, immunocompromised, are the ones who should be masked with N95 masks when around others. I have a healthy immune system so I will not ever be masking in public. I did, however, quarantine in my home for 10 days when I tested positive after my Indy cruise. I had two negative tests, 48 hours apart before I went out in public again.

Let's not forget there is asymptomatic (no symptoms) infection. If you don't regularly test, you will not know you have Covid.

Why don't your vulnerable friends and family wear an N95 mask when around others who choose to live their lives normally again (that means no masking).

Number of cases on board is probably not their criteria. Number of patients who get very ill, requiring hospitalization and intensive care is what TPTB are looking at. I believe their largest mistake is allowing unvaccinated people on board. Those are the people who are at risk of severe disease. My opinion.

Kind of dumb at this point NOT to be vaccinated, IMHO.

Unless you test on a regular basis, you don't know if you have had an asymptomatic infection. So........you just MAY have already had Covid.

I surely hope, even though you won't test if you feel sick, that you do not go out in public. That is what quarantine is all about.

As I have already said, I'm DONE with masking unless I am in a facility that requires masks. I have been wanting to be exposed to this latest variant so I could develop natural antibodies. I'm fully vaccinated and double boosted and I knew I would not become very ill. This latest variant is not virulent like the original strain and the Delta variant......no where near it, especially if an individual is vaccinated. I'm living life normally now, no masks for me. Oh......my symptoms were a sore throat that lasted about 15 minutes. THAT is what alerted me to test after disembarking Indy. Then I had a dry cough very occasionally. That was it for my symptoms. Oh....forgot to say I had a low grade temp of 100.4 for about an hour that subsided after I took Tylenol and I was not febrile after that one dose. The common cold can be much worse than what I experienced with Covid. I'm old too.

You have natural antibodies from being Covid positive in May. That isn't luck; that is your body protecting you from Covid.

My husband remained negative for Covid while I quarantined in the house because I tested positive after our Indy cruise. I did not isolate from him in the house and he tested negative every time I tested positive. When I finally had two negative tests 48 hours apart, hubby was still negative. We were in close contact the whole time in our home when I was testing positive. It does happen that way sometimes. Hubby may have been exposed to the virus, had an asymptomatic infection and did not know it and has antibodies to the variant I had. That is just a guess as to why he never did test positive.

No milking required. If a person tests positive, they are supposed to quarantine. There is more to the CDC guidelines, however.

No need to "milk" anything. If an individual tests positive, that person must not be out in public for 5 days if no symptoms and 10 days if they do have symptoms. Those are the current CDC guidelines if anyone tests positive.

You are so right about that. With all the home tests that are available now, why not test? Medicare insurance pays 100% for eight tests per month but I'm not sure what private insurance covers for Covid tests.

I'm DONE masking and I did test positive three days after disembarking Indy. I'm fully vaccinated and boosted and I am old but I did not bother to mask anywhere on the ship. I felt confident enough that I would not get very sick so I even got in crowded elevators at times. I tested positive and hubby tested negative three days after disembarking the ship. I tested negative on day 11 after symptoms started and hubby remained negative the entire time. I did not isolate from hubby in our home. My symptoms were so minor, most people probably wouldn't have even tested for Covid. Agree this virus is endemic now.