Apple Requiring Retail Employees in Some Regions to Wear Masks, Other Employees Encouraged to Do So

Good for Apple looking out for everyone's health! Get vaccinated, people.

Well, now that's absolutely false.

It’s absolutely false? Japan and the Philippines reported mask compliance at over 98% for over a year. Why didn’t COVID disappear in those countries?

The subtext is clear - the honor system of asking unvaccinated people to wear masks didn't work and so now everyone has to wear them since there's no way to tell the groups apart.

Why would everyone have to wear them if vaccines work?

Everyone wore masks for 15 months but COVID still spread like wildfire. Might as well wipe your butt with those stupid things. They’re useless against COVID except for people who are coughing and sneezing, who shouldn’t be out anyway.

We had 8 of those 15 months without vaccine

The issue is a lack of vaccinations. We started well, but now have hit a wall, states like MO aren't helping with 40% or so vaccinations. Also, Florida accounts for 1 in 5 cases across the country

Masks help, vaccinations are the answer

Not to mention, not everyone wore masks. There were tons of reports of public gatherings where people neither wore masks nor socially distanced themselves.

There's plenty of evidence pointing to the fact that they do work; people just need to stop thinking about themselves and mask up.

Everyone wore masks for 15 months but COVID still spread like wildfire. Might as well wipe your butt with those stupid things. They’re useless against COVID except for people who are coughing and sneezing, who shouldn’t be out anyway.

We had 8 of those 15 months without vaccine

The issue is a lack of vaccinations. We started well, but now have hit a wall, states like MO aren't helping with 40% or so vaccinations. Also, Florida accounts for 1 in 5 cases across the country

Masks help, vaccinations are the answer

I'm not interested in protecting anti-vaxxers.

There’s no evidence masks work.

Here's just a handful of studies and articles that point to the fact that masks work.

* https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449
* https://files.fast.ai/papers/masks_lit_review.pdf
* https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent
* https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20201119/how-much-does-wearing-a-mask-protect-you
* https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-face-masks-what-you-need-to-know
* https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/masks-save-lives-heres-what-you-need-to-know-2020111921466
* https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33087517/

They're not a perfect solution; nobody said they were. Hell, even vaccines aren't 100% effective, but they work. They reduce the spread and that's what we're trying to do here. Obviously if you want to avoid risk, it's better to stay at home or if you have to go out to practice social distancing and sanitize regularly.

We’re going to wear masks forever?

Not sure. Before COVID, I still saw the occasional traveler wearing a face mask as a precaution (I think the trend started with SARS, but I could be wrong).