Unions call for two-hour mask breaks

Unions call for two-hour mask breaks

main

norman lebrecht

August 10, 2020

Workers unions in Austria, together with the social democrats, are calling for a statutory break on wearing masks every two hours. They are concerned especially for people working in the hospitality sector and are demanding that they be given a 15-minute mask break at a two-hour interval through the working day.

 

Comments

  • Mathias Broucek says:

    Sounds reasonable to me

  • Dennis says:

    But I thought face diapers were entirely safe and had no adverse health effects whatsoever from prolonged use? That’s what the Covid propagandists have been saying. Why would you need a break from something supposedly completely innocuous?

    • Petros Linardos says:

      Safe doesn’t necessarily mean comfortable.

      Science is not the same thing as propaganda.

    • Bruce says:

      For the same reason people need a break from you 😉
      (Sorry, it was just sitting there. I had to.)

      Seriously though, I work in a hospital and wear a mask at work for roughly 8 hours (8 1/2 hour shift: 1/2 hour for lunch, but you’re “encouraged” to put your mask back on when you’re done eating, not when your half hour is up). I have checked my oxygen levels with my oximeter in the morning: 97-98%. Then at the end of the day, when I’m huffing and puffing and feel like I’m suffocating, and my whole lower face feels like a soggy mess, I check again… 97-98%. My ears hurt from the straps and the top of the mask leaves a line across my face, but whatever. Breaks would not be necessary, but they would be nice.

    • William Safford says:

      What’s sad, is that many people in this country, including many commenters on this blog, will take your ironic comment at face (so to speak) value….

      • Bruce says:

        Look up the “Poe Effect.”

        My mistake, usually, is to think someone is joking when they espouse a ridiculous position, only to find out they are not :-/

        That’s why I’m careful to put an eyeroll emoji (or “/eyeroll/) at the end of posts now.

        • William Safford says:

          Clarification: my callout wasn’t aimed at you, but at those who would take Dennis’s comment seriously and believe that it’s correct.

  • MOST READ TODAY: