[Organizers] Re: Is it time to end COVID restrictions at most contra dances?

FYI, here are some recent (scientific) journal articles about the effects of masking: Revisiting the Protective Value of Barrier Face Coverings After the COVID-19 Pandemic Theodore J. Witek JrDrPH, James A. ScottPhD, and John R. BalmesMD American Journal of Public Health (ajph) June 2022 https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306833 Maintaining face mask use before and after achieving different COVID-19 vaccination coverage levels: a modelling study The Lancet Public Health, Volume 7, Issue 4, April 2022, Pages e356-e365 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468266722000408 Does wearing a mask while exercising amid COVID-19 pandemic affect hemodynamic and hematologic function among healthy individuals? Implications of mask modality, sex, and exercise intensity The Physician and Sportsmedicine, Volume 50, 2022 - Issue 3<https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ipsm20/50/3> https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2021.1922947 SEIR Model to address the impact of face masks amid COVID-19 pandemic Risk Analysis - An International Journal, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13958 Enjoy the reading (and the jargon). Woody -- Woody Lane Caller, Percussive Dancer Roseburg, Oregon http://www.woodylanecaller.com cell: 541-556-0054 ________________________________ On 1/4/2023 6:57 PM, Perry Shafran via Organizers wrote: If you are wearing a well-fitting N95 mask, it should be providing a good seal on exhalation and inhalation. That is why masking works to prevent spread and protect others. And while one-way masking is good protection, science has shown us that universal masking is even better. Also, it actually does matter what we do at dances, but it is because we are part of society as a whole. If we have covid spread at a dance, every one who was in that hall was exposed, and they all have to go out in the world and encounter other people. And if they are not wearing masks when they do that, then there is that potential spread to others, and so on. Required masking at dances shuts off all of those vectors.