Being excessively cautious (is simple masking enough)

[stepford]

I was recently called into jury duty (and to my great good fortune, was released after only 10 minutes in the county courthouse - it turns out they'd called too many prospective jurors). The courthouse now mandates face coverings and everyone there complied, with most using a store-bought cloth or paper face mask and a few using a simple kerchief.

By comparison I looked like I was there for Halloween, with my N95 mask, lab safety glasses, face shield (from my machine shop) and rubber gloves. My outfit seemed to disconcert enough people that everyone stayed a good 10 feet away from me. That, plus my brief time inside makes me think I dodged the bullet.

My point, though, is that I was clearly being vastly overcautious and/or overdressed compared to the consensus for safe practice. In a similar situation are folks here from similarly older and at-risk populations taking similar precautions or was I just being silly (and unnerving my fellow citizens for no good reason)?

 

[MichaelB]

Don’t worry what others think and do stay safe.

 

[braumeister]

It’s all about your own peace of mind. So you get to decide what precautions are right.

 

[ivinsfan]

If you were trying to get released from jury duty, it worked.

 

[Sunset]

I think you might have stumbled upon a great way to avoid jury duty.
What defendant wants Darth Vader in the jury panel..

I'm thinking that OP's extra precautions , would in some cases unnerve people as those people suddenly think "this is more dangerous than I thought" , and they feel suddenly exposed to catching the covid

 

[ownyourfuture]

If you were trying to get released from jury duty, it worked.

A+

 

[MichaelB]

I see people with mask, shield and gloves at the grocer every time I make a shopping run. The day before yesterday I got new city parking passes and the clerk that attended me had all three, even though there was a plastic divider on the counter between us.

Jury duty is high risk, sitting inside all day in close quarters with uncertain ventilation, and calls for hearty measures.

 

[Dtail]

Don’t worry what others think and do stay safe.

+1
I don't go to those lengths, but would never look down on anyone who does.

 

[Aerides]

To avoid the prospect of being stuck indoors in close quarters to a dozen other people for days on end, I would take maximum precautions.

 

[ABQ2015]

I wear an N95 mask when going inside buildings but wear a disposable mask over it to keep the N95 clean and to cover up the 3M writing that is on the N95. Also wear eyeglasses for my poor vision. Of course I look odd with all of these straps going all over my head and the disposable mask ear loops combined with the eyeglasses sort of make my ears stick out. But I don't usually know the people I encounter so what the heck. Am at moderate risk due to age and underlying conditions and would not feel comfortable with just a disposable or cotton mask in a confined space with many people.

 

[harllee]

I am thinking of getting a face shield to wear over my mask to protect my eyes. I already wear disposable gloves when I am doing things where I could contract the virus and am not able to wash my hands. I am fairly high risk (age 69) but DH has an autoimmune disease and is very high risk.

 

[Nemo2]

Since people have always tended to avoid me anyway, crossing the road, getting on another ship/plane regardless of its destination, I don't have this problem.

 

[TrvlBug]

I have a 3M N99 (looks like a gas mask) that I bought when we had our house tented a few years ago. Intend to wear it if called for jury duty along with sealed safety glasses. i'm sure no one will come near me . DH being >70 can excuse himself from jury duty without a doctor's note in our state.

 

[W2R]

In a similar situation are folks here from similarly older and at-risk populations taking similar precautions or was I just being silly (and unnerving my fellow citizens for no good reason)?

Don’t worry what others think and do stay safe.

+1

It’s all about your own peace of mind. So you get to decide what precautions are right.

+1

I agree with MichaelB and braumeister!

That said, you asked what we would do (which is not necessarily what you should do). In my case, I'm 72 with multiple co-morbidity conditions. I probably would have gone with just my stretchable cloth gaiter. Maybe some nitrile gloves tucked in my purse, just in case I felt that I needed them.

I follow what the authorities mandate, but since late summer I have been "loosening up" to some extent when it comes to those safety measures that are neither required nor recommended. That might be inadvisable, though! At any rate that is what I have been doing. But as for you, do what you need to do for your own safety, don't follow the lead of some crazy woman in New Orleans, OK?

 

[RobbieB]

The only people I see dressed like that are health care pros. If I saw you coming I would go the other way.

 

[Brat]

A friend of mine who is 79 was called for jury duty but wasn't selected. It was the first trial since the shut-down. He said that jurors were encased in plexiglass shields and scattered around the courtroom.

 

[Calico]

<snip>By comparison I looked like I was there for Halloween, with my N95 mask, lab safety glasses, face shield (from my machine shop) and rubber gloves. My outfit seemed to disconcert enough people that everyone stayed a good 10 feet away from me. That, plus my brief time inside makes me think I dodged the bullet.

The only people I see dressed like that are health care pros. If I saw you coming I would go the other way.

Since March I have taken the same precautions you took (mask, face shield, gloves, goggles) on the incredibly rare occasions when I enter any building other than my house, if I am going to be inside for more than ten minutes. If I am just running in to grab my takeout dinner, I just wear mask and gloves, but I am inside for literally 15 seconds for that.

If it's good enough for the health care pros, it's good enough for me. And I would say keeping people ten feet away was just a bonus!

I don't give a flying flip what anyone around me thinks, or how "unnerved" they may get. If I get Covid they aren't going to be there to take care of me. I have worked all my life to get to retirement (81 days to go) and no sneaky virus is going to deprive me of my retirement years if I can help it.

One last thing: if you had followed the "consensus" opinion of the masses during your life you probably wouldn't be here on ER.org, nor would you be where you are today.

Keep doing what feels right for you, and stay well!

 

[TrvlBug]

The only people I see dressed like that are health care pros. If I saw you coming I would go the other way.

I have too and that's why I would feel comfortable wearing my N99! A good friend's teenage son has a real gas mask (he's into that stuff) and wears it when he's out and about to the embarrassment of mom .

 

[Poopycat]

I laughed out loud when I read that you looked like you were there for Halloween

That being said, you have to do what makes you feel safe. If that feels like overkill to others, then so be it. But yes, a great way to get out of jury duty too.

 

[HadEnuff]

I was recently called into jury duty (and to my great good fortune, was released after only 10 minutes in the county courthouse - it turns out they'd called too many prospective jurors). The courthouse now mandates face coverings and everyone there complied, with most using a store-bought cloth or paper face mask and a few using a simple kerchief.

By comparison I looked like I was there for Halloween, with my N95 mask, lab safety glasses, face shield (from my machine shop) and rubber gloves. My outfit seemed to disconcert enough people that everyone stayed a good 10 feet away from me. That, plus my brief time inside makes me think I dodged the bullet.

My point, though, is that I was clearly being vastly overcautious and/or overdressed compared to the consensus for safe practice. In a similar situation are folks here from similarly older and at-risk populations taking similar precautions or was I just being silly (and unnerving my fellow citizens for no good reason)?

Comparing your choices to the choices made by 90% of the people you see in public is no way to judge the wisdom of your choices. Heck, just look at what is in the grocery cart of the person in front of you at the check out line.

 

[jollystomper]

If you are comfortable in that, that is fine. Like others have said, do not worry about others think.

I play it by ear and experience based on where I am going. I go to the gym in a mask and gloves, and I keep the mask on even when exercising. No one has said anything to me, but compared to the rest of there folks there I do look overcautious, which is fine.

 

[travelover]

I'd rather be laughed at than dead or wishing I was dead. Stay on the cautious side of safe.

 

[harllee]

I hope in a couple of years when the virus is under control we can look back and laugh at all the crazy things we did in 2020. In the meantime I am going to keep doing all the crazy things I feel are necessary to be safe.

 

[easysurfer]

Guess that's one way to put on a jury face, or more so get out of jury duty face .

 

[Katsmeow]

If I was summoned to jury duty, the first thing I would do is reschedule it for as far away as I could. People 70 or over are exempt but I don't meet that yet.

If after rescheduling and I had to go and things are like they are now. I would definitely take more precautions than usual. I have been in a middle other than my home 4 times since March, 3 of them since masks were a thing. I don't have an N95 mask but I do have several cloths masks that are multi layers.

For jury duty where I would be with other people I would consider wearing a face shield (I wear reading glasses so I couldn't do goggles), along with my masks. I would bring several extras so I could change during the day. I would maybe wear gloves or at least would have them with me plus hand sanitizer. The length of time in the court house would bother me a lot.