Question for the covid cautious

[happi duck]

Our church has been very cautious (yay!) and recently returned to in person service in addition to Zoom.

Masks are required indoors.  Readers unmask to read and the priest unmasks for the sermon (6ft. distance).  I wish there wasn't singing but it is masked and I plan to stay in back.

The only thing giving me pause: Because ASL needs facial expression, the interpreter is unmasked for the whole service.  I'm assuming she's vaccinated.  I'm assuming she would stay home if ill.  If she were asymptomatic could she greatly spread covid?

I feel stupid asking so please be gentle with me.

I'm high risk and my family has had too many catastrophes to be risky.

[catz]

I can't comment specifically on risk.  To me it seems like if someone closer to you were masked and starting to be symptomatic, that could be riskier than the vaccinated and unmasked and well spaced person up at the front doing ASL.  

My thoughts on this going into fall are going to be based on risk in our area.  Are hospitals packed?  Are you in a sharp spike upwards?   Does your area have good vaccination rates?  What is the vibe in your church like in terms of masking/vaccination?  Like you couldn't pay me to do a group setting in Florida right now.  But there are parts of the country I would be ok with this set up.  

[happi duck]

5 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I can't comment specifically on risk.  To me it seems like if someone closer to you were masked and starting to be symptomatic, that could be riskier than the vaccinated and unmasked and well spaced person up at the front doing ASL.  

My thoughts on this going into fall are going to be based on risk in our area.  Are hospitals packed?  Are you in a sharp spike upwards?   Does your area have good vaccination rates?  What is the vibe in your church like in terms of masking/vaccination?  Like you couldn't pay me to do a group setting in Florida right now.  But there are parts of the country I would be ok with this set up.  

Good points!

I think I'm imagining one person filling up the whole space with their breath but I'm guessing it doesn't work that way!

Precovid, I  left church to wash my hands before and after passing the peace so covid has me on even higher alert.

[Drama Llama]

I think the risk of an unmasked silent interpreter six feet from you is significantly less than a single masked singer next to you.

[Not_a_Number]

Given Delta, I simply wouldn’t want to be in a crowded room in the fall 😕 . I wouldn’t worry much about the specific unmasked people as much as all the people crammed in one room… masks HELP, but they decrease risk and don’t eliminate it, especially given how I see people wearing them.

It sucks, I know. I’m ready to be done with the pandemic, too… but it’s not done with us.

[Scarlett]

Pretty sure I would not do that. Delta is so contagious that even masked you are at risk if you are in an indoor space with people for that long .  

[HomeAgain]

I am actually mostly okay with that scenario.  I am NOT a fan of going to a crowded room, and I would really have to trust everyone except the interpreter to wear their masks properly.  But I am okay with a single, unmasked interpreter standing alone.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, happi duck said:

Our church has been very cautious (yay!) and recently returned to in person service in addition to Zoom.

Masks are required indoors.  Readers unmask to read and the priest unmasks for the sermon (6ft. distance).  I wish there wasn't singing but it is masked and I plan to stay in back.

The only thing giving me pause: Because ASL needs facial expression, the interpreter is unmasked for the whole service.  I'm assuming she's vaccinated.  I'm assuming she would stay home if ill.  If she were asymptomatic could she greatly spread covid?

I feel stupid asking so please be gentle with me.

I'm high risk and my family has had too many catastrophes to be risky.

I’m not personally okay with that scenario with Delta, but the unmasked priest and the singing would be the bigger issue. Talking produces a lot of aerosols, so I would expect the unmasked sermon to be more problematic than the unmasked, but silent, interpreter. 

[Spryte]

1 hour ago, happi duck said:

Our church has been very cautious (yay!) and recently returned to in person service in addition to Zoom.

Masks are required indoors.  Readers unmask to read and the priest unmasks for the sermon (6ft. distance).  I wish there wasn't singing but it is masked and I plan to stay in back.

The only thing giving me pause: Because ASL needs facial expression, the interpreter is unmasked for the whole service.  I'm assuming she's vaccinated.  I'm assuming she would stay home if ill.  If she were asymptomatic could she greatly spread covid?

I feel stupid asking so please be gentle with me.

I'm high risk and my family has had too many catastrophes to be risky.

Your last sentence is where we are, but we have several high risk family members, some immune compromised and one too young to vaccinate. We have had catastrophe after catastrophe.

Because of that, I would not be up for any optional room full of people, not with Delta increasing.  I would still be zooming.

[prairiewindmomma]

If you weren’t high risk, I would be comfortable with that scenario. Because you share that you are, I will share that I am doing 0 large crowds in an interior room right now, even with proper spacing. The 6’ spacing protects you from droplet spread, but not aerosol. In addition, not everyone is going to be in a “good” mask or always wear it properly.

If church is very important to you, and you must go for whatever reason, I would go only in a N95, and I would arrange to have a HEPA filter by you (ie sit in a pew by an outlet, and bring your own HEPA—like a small Levoit which is easily portable). 
 

 

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, Not_a_Number said:

Given Delta, I simply wouldn’t want to be in a crowded room in the fall 😕 . I wouldn’t worry much about the specific unmasked people as much as all the people crammed in one room… masks HELP, but they decrease risk and don’t eliminate it, especially given how I see people wearing them.

It sucks, I know. I’m ready to be done with the pandemic, too… but it’s not done with us.

I'm sad to say, I agree.

If people think the Delta pandemic looks bad now, check back in a few weeks after schools open.

It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Bill

[Faith-manor]

31 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

I'm sad to say, I agree.

If people think the Delta pandemic looks bad now, check back in a few weeks after schools open.

It is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Bill

Sadly, very sadly, agreeing. There will be many children and their care givers sacrificed to the political gods this year.

[klmama]

I would not be terribly concerned about the unmasked interpreter, especially if you sit in the back.  However, you could suggest she use something like this clear mask.  

[happi duck]

Thanks for helping me think through this.  I'm leaning towards continuing to Zoom.

I lead stuff for kids and have been doing virtual Sunday school throughout all this.  Our church has not brought back the Sunday school hour yet which I'm glad of.