Insanity

I do a fair amount of DIY, and when I do, it often puts a fair amount of dust into the air.   I also go into the wood store from time to time, where the wood chips for the boiler are usually covered in a fine wood powder.   So when I do these things I wear a face mask to stop my lungs from from inhaling potentially toxic dust.   Over the years I have always held a small stock of masks, since I never know when the DIY urge will strike, or things need emergency repair.   It so happens that they are FFP2 rated, which means they are also recommended for reducing inhalation of airbourne water droplets laden with virus particles, and for catching exhalations of the same.

Anita went into the hospital at Laval recently, just for a check-up.  She decided to wear one of the FFP2s that we had in stock, rather than one of the disposables that we also have: better protection for her, and for the hospital staff, in a high-risk environment.  She also has characteristics that class her as vulnerable, adding to the justification.   At reception, the conversation went something like this:

  - How long have you been wearing that mask?

  - About two minutes - I put it on when I got out of the car.

  - You have to replace it with one of these disposables.

  - But this is an FFP2 - it's better than those.

  - Yes we know that, but it's an FFP2 - they're for professionals only.

So she had to take of the FFP2 and replace it with an inferior disposable one in order to get to her appointment.   I don't swear here because this blog is family-compatible, but is that ****ing insane or what?

In the early days of the virus outbreak, when FFP2 masks were in short supply, I thought about donating my masks to the healthcare services.   I'm glad I didn't.  Cretins.

Here is a photo of my masks.   They're for me, not for them.   (J'ai un bon tabac)