#WestJet did receive a whopping $700,000 from Premier Ford for their pandemic losses. That amount was the maximum grant allowable under the taxpayer-funded Ontario Tourism Recovery Program designed to compensate the tourism industry.
It might be worth noting that WestJet's CEO is also anti-vax & anti-mask.
🇳🇱
Anti-mandate is **not** anti-mask or anti-vax.
I know nothing about this guy and maybe he is all those things. But him blasting the feds for mandates does NOT automatically mean he is against masks or vaccines.
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
In the past year we have clearly seen that if you do not mandate masks on planes, the majority will not wear them. These are often the people who never wear masks and are therefore more likely to be infected.
Masks prevent the virus getting into the air that others must breathe. Masks are much more effective as source control (i.e., the infected person wears them) than as protection (although fit-tested N95s provide quite some protection).
@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
> In the past year we have clearly seen that if you do not mandate masks on planes, the majority will not wear them. These are often the people who never wear masks and are therefore more likely to be infected.
Thats probably true sure.
> Masks prevent the virus getting into the air that others must breathe. Masks are much more effective as source control (i.e., the infected person wears them) than as protection (although fit-tested N95s provide quite some protection).
The effectiveness of masks is debatable, but for the purpose of this thread lets assume what you said is true... ok. Doesnt make what I said any less true. Even if mask/vax mandates are reasonable and a good idea to support them... being against mandates is **not** the same as being against masks or vaccines.
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
In practice it might be best to have flights with or without a mask mandate.
People who do not want to wear a mask can then book the flight without masks.
People who rather not want to get ill, can book the flight with a mandate.
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
Before Covid the protection from respirators (N95/KN95/FFP2/FFP3) against bacterial and viral infections has never been a debate.
For example, against Tuberculosis, these respirators provide good protection, while surgical masks provide much less protection.
Mask mandates may be less effective than masks themselves, because people get so much misinformation about masks not working, that they do not wear them consistently.
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
And it is true that masks never provide 100% protection.
But neither do helmets, seat belts and fire dectors. Did we decide to stop using those? Helmets and seat belts are rather uncomfortable.
How did we get to a "you do you" approach for masks (while this also means that people are a danger to everyone around them), but we would never imagine this approach to helmets and seat belts (not wearing them mostly harms the person themselves)?
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
The only reason I can think of is that there are people with influence who think that if people wear masks, this will mean less income generated.
It could be the entertainment industry, the hospitality industry, and maybe retail?
(Although you will hardly see me in shops these days: For everything I compare the risk of getting long Covid versus the benefit of the thing I want to buy - you are surprised about how little you actually need).
@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
> Mask mandates may be less effective than masks themselves, because people get so much misinformation about masks not working, that they do not wear them consistently.
Sadly you get misinformation from both sides. Those who promote masks try and sell it as this wonderfully effected and trusted solution, when the reality is we have very little good evidence showing just how effective it is at all. There are valid arguments that when used by the general problic they could even make matters worse... Then you have guys on the otherwise who will swear up and down the evidence cocnlusively shows masks are useless... When the misinformation is constantly from **both** sides, that is the problem, more so than just misinformation out there. At least if one side was objectively honest about it then people could all go to that side and get informed. Instead thats not what we have.
> The only reason I can think of is that there are people with influence who think that if people wear masks, this will mean less income generated.
Nah, its likely people just realizing they dont want to live their life walking around in low-grade hazmat gear over a disease that posses real, but managable risk that is not going to go away. Most of us simply see the mask as hypochondria levels and not healthy in multiple ways and are done with it.
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
Did you look at the paper that I attached?
Or are you only working from your own ideas and perceptions?
@freemo @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
You know that all this anti-mask propaganda comes from the same media outlets that also promoted Brexit and are owned by billionaires?
@ABScientist @gemelliz @myeyesaredim @Pinchy63
Not sure what a shitty "news" organization writing shitty articles telling people the exact shitty stuff they are already saying is proof of anything interesting other than the fact that the millionairs are just as shitty as everyone else, but I knew that already.
