Originally Posted by Pup7 (Post 24061191)

You all do realize that N95s are to protect people on the OUTSIDE....people with the flu don't wear N95s in the hospital, they wear good old surgical masks.

N95s are to keep particles out, not keep particles in. The unaffected wear them, not the affected.

(I worked bone marrow transplant for five years and spent a total of seven years in oncology. The only N95 precautions are for the people going in the room, not the patient. Not even TBers wear them outside the room - they wear surgical masks. The filter works in, not out. At least, that's what our infection control boards at two hospitals - one nationally ranked and the other a Federal institution - have always told us.)

Originally Posted by Badenoch (Post 24072290)

I have flown sick, most recently due to a nasty cold caught in Europe. I did my best to cover my mouth and not sneeze in anyone's direction on the flight home.

Sorry if that offends but I am not about to rebook, incur extra charges and pay for a couple of extra days in a hotel just to satisfy complete strangers on a plane. Nor would I respond well to having a mask shoved at me by another passenger or being forced to wear one by the airline.

Part of being on public transit is being exposed to the public and all their assorted airborne pathogens.