Essential workers: 6 ways to reduce risk, but there is only 1 you can control.

There are six things that control the spread of the virus really well.

1. Crowds- avoid
2. Activity- reduce talking or other things that generate “microspit”. Including 6ft spacing and avoiding indoor restaurants.
3. Protection- wear it
4. Time- reduce your exposure (like work from home)
5. Infection High?- close the store
6. Ventilation- increase it

#1, 3, 4, and 5 are familiar. [Crowds, protection, stay home (time), and shutdowns (infection high — close the store) are familiar.] Ventilation is getting a lot more attention, and people sorta know what activities are higher and lower risk.

But, if you are an essential worker, this doesn’t matter so much. Because your boss controls most of these. There is the tragic story of some supermarket employees who died because they were forbidden from wearing masks. And, when looking at a pile of bills, what is an essential worker going to do?

There is one place where you, the essential worker, can control, and that is your mask. Wear it right and even if you are in the riskiest of situations, it can make a big difference.

In general, you don’t need a fancy mask, just make sure it doesn’t leak (#SweetNLowMaskTest). If you are in a very high risk situation, like a nursing home, make sure you use an N95 or something better, like maybe a Viral Helmet.