Day 51

If you "get" the picture above, you've been playing too much Skyrim.

Today was all about face masks.  For the past month, I've been getting by on a pair of hand-made cloth masks sewn by my dear friend L.  It was a manageable situation because I rarely go out or encounter a situation where a mask is needed.  I don't wear a mask on my multiple walks each day around the block because I rarely encounter  another person while walking, and when I do, I always cross the street and maintain at least a 22-foot separation (the width of the road).  Typically, I just wave and move on or at worse exchange a few pleasantries shouted from opposite sides of the street.  Low risk.

Supermarket excursions are harrowing and despite the one-way markings in the aisles, it's still nearly impossible to maintain a six-foot buffer from everyone else, including the other shoppers, the cashiers, the grocery baggers, etc.    For a trip to the supermarket, I wear a face mask, coat my eyeglasses with a film of soapy water to keep them from fogging up, and put on a pair of nitrile gloves.  Level D PPE as we say in the hazmat business.  I take off the gloves before getting back in the car or touching the steering wheel, and once home wash my hands, forearms and other exposed skin thoroughly.  Then I "quarantine" the groceries by keeping the non-perishable items on a separate shelf in the pantry for a few days, the refrigerated items in a separate closed crisper drawer in the fridge, and the frozen items in a separate shelf in the freezer.  What's the clinical term for fear of groceries?  Krogerphopia?

I've been seeing posts in social media advising my neighbors and I that toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer and/or face masks are available at such-and-such store, but by the time I get there, they're inevitably sold out.  Actually, I'm set on toilet paper and paper towels - I got lucky one day at Publix supermarket while they were stocking the shelves - but I've been to Ace Hardware stores, Rite-Aids, and gas station convenience stores all over the neighborhood chasing down leads on sanitizer and face masks to no avail.

I remember seeing a case of N-95 face masks in the warehouse of my former employer and called asking if I could buy any of them from him.  He said they were all out, meaning he still had some he just wasn't giving them to me.  I got an email from a diving shop (of all places) that I used to patronize back in the 90s saying they had a case of N-95s for sale, but when I emailed them saying I'm interested they were silent for a week (no response) and then finally replied that they were all sold out.  No way they were selling a mask in these times to a customer from 25 years ago!  They said they were getting a new case next week and would write me when they arrived, but I've heard nothing back.  That was three weeks ago.

This morning, my brother sent an email saying he just got 20 KN-95s, the Chinese equivalent on N-95s, from a pharmacy in his home state of Maine.  He said they shipped and I should contact them if I wanted some.  I called the pharmacy and sure enough, they were out, but she said she'd take my name and call me when the next shipment arrived next week.  When she learned I was calling all the way from Georgia, she had to put me on hold twice to make sure it was okay to do business.  I gave her my name and number but suspect that like the local diving shop, I'll never hear back from them again.  No way they're selling a mask to a customer 1,000 miles away - I'm almost guaranteed not to give them any repeat business.

And then I heard some alarming things about the poor quality of some Chinese-made KN-95s, so it may be for the best.

But I finally had a breakthrough today.  A neighbor rounded up a bunch of us and placed an order for 50 packs of 10 cloth masks each.  I paid him via Venmo and picked them up from him today - he set up shop in a local playground.  Yes, they're cloth, but they're professionally made (in Pakistan), fit snugly, and cover my face nicely.  Still fog up my eyeglasses, though.  But they nicely supplement my two hand-made masks.

Cloth masks won't prevent you from getting infected if you're close to a carrier of the virus, but they are pretty effective at protecting others from anything you might be carrying.  Plus they reduce the incidents of touching your face when you're out and about.  My strategy on staying  healthy is to continue to shelter in place and wear my mask and gloves when I absolutely have to go out (groceries, etc.).  I'll continue to keep an eye out for the industrial-grade N-95 masks for when things start to get really hairy.

Next, hand sanitizer.