Just my opinion, but there seems to be a psychological effect to wearing a mask. It makes you more conscientious of your breathing and it prevents you from incidentally touching your face. That, and I feel much less need to shave...

BTW, much reduced line at the grocery store today compared to the last few times I was there. I stood at the front of the line for a while finishing my coffee before going in — actually I was the line, no one in front or behind. Once inside I found the shelves mostly stocked (still no peas), but the quantity limits had been lifted. I guess the panic buying is over.

Now we wait for HD to restock N-95 masks... oh yeah, 3M is feeling some heat...

If for whatever reason I had to fly or be in a high risk crowd of people I would probably want to wear the best protection I have which is the 3M half-face respirator with the two side-mounted pink filters.

Question: If I were to wear such a half-face respirator through an airport, what do you think people would do? Do you think I'd be harassed by security or other travelers? Would I be shamed and told that I should have turned it over to healthcare workers? Your thought??

All things considered, some folks would be thinking, “that’s a little over-kill”, while others would be thinking, “I wish I’d thought of that”.

I wouldn’t consider turning my years old 3M half-face respirator over to a healthcare organization that couldn’t plan ahead and purchase their own. I’ve got a supply of PPE (gloves and masks) here that are years old.

This is a wake-up call that the healthcare industry has been way too reliant on just-in-time inventory management and foreign sources. Anyone with a bit of common sense knows that when things are needed by many (as in a pandemic) those items may not arrive just-in-time — if ever. Foreign suppliers have demonstrated that regardless of how well they perform in benign environments, they are totally unreliable when under stress.

It’s why we stockpile when things are readily available rather than panic buying when they’re not.

Hopefully, they will still consider providing healthcare to you, even though you didn't plan ahead and earn your own medical degree.

I think it is basically a case of enlightened self interest. i was surprised at how many masks I had stored away in various nooks and crannies and came up with more than one hundred. I offered them to my doctor, who had suspended normal operations.

I am simply trying to keep those alive and healthy who will ultimately keep me alive and healthy. Other terms that come to mind are cooperation and teamwork.

Considering that the gov wants all of us to wear PPE when we’re out in public, you are being very generous to give yours away.

I think that recommendation only came down in the last 24 hours. Up til yesterday the party line was only doctors and nurses or the already-sick needed a mask. We'll see what they say tomorrow!

I donated all my protective gloves and masks except what we need literally for our own health. My wife handles medicine that can't contact her skin, so she needed gloves there, and with barns we need workable (sealed & not fogging glasses) dust protection - especially me, so I don't end up in the hospital, thus the half-face respirators.

I actually have a 3M face shield too, but I bought it for protection when using an angle grinder after getting chunks on my lower face.

I'll admit that the recent issue related to 3M concerns me a bit because most all of my protective gear is from them. Time will tell on that.

Well, I didn't relinquish all of them.

That’s probably true, but at least here in CA I was seeing more people each day wearing surgical type masks as well as the reusable masks with & without valves in public. I like the washable type, but when woodworking and sawdust is flying that old 3M respirator is preferred. Regardless, simple observation showed we were moving in the direction of the public being asked to wear masks in public and now it’s official.

Watching the news, apparently the heat is on 3M to deliver their N95 masks to the domestic market — their CEO is doing PR. Apparently an official in Florida raised a big twitter stink because the masks he had cash to buy were being exported (foreign buyer) — next thing you know POTUS signed an executive order. So 3M masks (10 million a week if I heard correctly) should be entering the supply chain. Would my single respirator make a difference — no, that would be virtue signaling of a different type. If I had a few unopened boxes of N-95 or surgical masks on the shelf I’d take them over to the local hospital. One respirator which still requires two of the correct cartridges to function? No, that stays on my bench. YMMV