Panic in the streets?

 



 


In this 1950 film noir, Richard Widmark plays a public health officer who saves New Orleans from Pneumoic Plague (airosolized bubonic plague). In 2020 New York hasn't been so lucky. We are now experiencing our second Corona wave, probably because some New Yorkers are not taking mask wearing and the need for social distancing seriously. I am not sure why this is, but that's what the facts seem to indicate.

Seeing as the citywide infectivity rate is still low (3.25%) It probably isn't too late to do something proactive. It would help if our  police  actively enforce the mask mandate for both the NYC Police force and the rest of New Yorkers. Our mayor and governor are planning on shutting schools in certain city zip codes with high infectivity rates and that should help.

It is remarkable the degree that the vast majority of New Yorkers have embraced the wearing of masks when venturing out of their apartments and houses. It seems that a minority are not with the program. and while they should be ashamed, apparently they are not.   I suspect that fines and enforcement are needed to help stem the tide, especially as the weather gets colder and people spend more time in doors. 

Public health measures can take time to establish, but even though there was initial resitance, people in cars routinely wear their seatbelts and know that talking on a cellphone with out a hands free device can lead to an expensive ticket. The same surely will applying to mask enforcement, if only our police will start by setting a good example and then willingly enforce our governor's mask order. There is no need for panic, just the will to insist that the public wears  masks properly especially when adequate social distancing is not 100% possible. 



from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2020/10/panic-in-streets.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an...
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH ...
Read more