Or other medically trained persons.
sorry to start a new thread related to this topic, but the medical personnel I know irl are kind of busy and exhausted and not people I would normally call up to chat.
the studio where I do pottery work is opening with what seem to me to be responsible guidelines - hand sanitizers at the door, masks required, byo brushes, sponges, and towels, disinfecting wipes at every station, stations marked off to keep people 6 feet apart. I would have to touch common use buckets with lids. There are sanitizing wipes to wipe them down. When I was there before the shutdown, staff was cleaning handles, knobs, and other “high touch” surfaces in their area every 15 minutes.
I have unfinished work at the studio that must be removed by July 8 or it will be thrown out.
i could just let it be thrown out, but I have hours of work in it.
i could just pick it up as is and give up the opportunity to glaze it that I have already paid for (A significant, but not Painful expense)
I could put on my used N95 that I use for fine plaster casting, or a cloth mask, go down, and glaze it, which would involve long visits on several days.
i am having trouble making the decision - I am not high risk (I’m a “young” healthy 51 - my pre existing conditions include bad knees and macular degeneration) there are many people who use the studio who are high risk, but they have the option to not go in. I have not been there, so I don’t know how much use the studio is getting.
The only public places I go are the feed store (5 minutes inside in a mask, sanitizing my cc and hands afterward every two weeks, leaving the bags untouched in my car for five days) And my classroom and school gym - wash hands after touching key pad and front door, not touching handrails, no one else has been allowed in my room since March - touching only student pick up bags in the gym, no one else in the gym with me, washing hands before and after touching bags and wearing a mask in the halls and gym. And every few weeks I open the lid on the community recycling dumpster, throw my recycling items in, close it and sanitize my hands.
dh picks up curbside groceries and our mail and he plays golf. Every week or so he brings home a carry out pizza and I help eat it. He thinks I am paranoid.
i am looking for guidance on what choice is reasonable and responsible about my pots. I am open to comments on my other choices from people with relevant Training or education. (Not anecdotal experience)
also, I know you are not supposed to reuse masks, but I don’t understand the science behind it. I reuse my plaster masks until they start smelling like I’m breathing plaster - us it ok to reuse this one (I only have the one) in the situations where I have been using it and the pottery studio? I touch the outside of the mask with washed hands and the elastics. It sits untouched for at least a week between uses. Or would a washable cloth mask be better?
thank you.