The new Covid-19 Mask requirement.

[Renée40]

I'm really concerned about airbnb's new demands that we wear a mask in our own homes. I can't do it, nor is it necessary here. I have a B&B, which by definition in our town means I run this business in my own home and care for my guests personally. 

I do social distance as much as the guest would like me to. I understand fear, and I respect another person's feelings in general. But this is beyond intrusive. Most businesses are not requiring masks in Southern Utah, it's just a suggestion as we are at yellow.

That's not really the point. The issue is that they are making one rule for the whole of North America without any regard to local conditions.

Yes Covid-19 cases continue to go up, but at the same time the hospitalization and death rate is going down down down. The people we know who have had the disease and recovered did so at home without a doctor's care. I'm aware this is anecdotal, but it is certainly our experience.

I'm much more afraid of overreaching mandates than I am of this disease at this point. It's obviously mutated as all viruses do and is not as virulent as it was once reported to be.

Here's a scenario for discussion; What if a host has already had it? Immunity has proven to be the norm, just as in the case  of other viruses. You can only get it once. That one study stating otherwise was proven false. So if a host has already gotten it and recovered then why would one need to wear a mask? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Renée40 There are documented cases of people getting covid twice even in the USA. Apart from that I have sympathy with your points

[Michael-and-Shelly0]

the are also documented cases of people testing positive, then negative or negative, negative, positive vis a versa and so on. what is getting covid twice? testing positive? having symptons then a positive test?  which test , the pcr test proven innaccurate and not for virus detection?   uggg its a minefield of info out there.

[Helen3]

It’s sad to see in a country with the highest death in the world with nearly a quarter of a million deaths some people still have their head in the sand. @Renée40 

Your death and infection rate is going up NOT down in the US and in Southern Utah

If you don’t believe a health professional from the UK - perhaps you will listen to your infectious health lead who left the platform in floods of tears when announcing your increasing infection and death rates  and the impact it was having on your health and care givers. 

 

The people you know who have recovered at home without the need for medical intervention have been fortunate. Millions have not been so fortunate .

As someone who works in the UK health service the reality is very different. Health and care workers continue to die as do the public in increasing numbers.

A virus mutating  doesn’t make it weaker.  It just means there are more  variations you can  catch.

It is the old, the sick of all ages, those with long term conditions and those with disabilities who are most vulnerable. It is the unthinking and uncaring fittest amongst us who are passing it on by not abiding by simple measures such as wearing a mask, washing your hands  and social distancing.

It matters not that you see yourselves as living in an area with relatively low infection rates.

As hosts we encourage travellers into our community who can bring the disease with them. 

I am asthmatic so don’t have to wear a mask but still do for short periods when in public until it interferes with my breathing.

if that was not the cases I would  be happy to use it in a home share situation 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Says @Helen3 who refuses to wear a mask due to asthma. I guess, based on the above, if you can't wear a mask you will snooze your listing until the pandemic is over?

[Helen3]

Go away and bully someone else @Mike-And-Jane0  

Aren’t you bored of picking on me yet 😁👍😀🤣🤣

Why lie and say I refuse to wear a mask. I have never said that. I say I CAN’T wear one for longer periods as it affects my breathing and could lead to an asthma attack. 

[Quincy]

Hello @Mike-And-Jane0, 

I just wanted to step in as I can see that a personal comment has been made here. Please I'd like us to keep this on topic going forward. 

If you're unsure about the rules please view our Community Guidelines. 

Let's stay respectful towards one another. 

Thanks,

Quincy

[Michael-and-Shelly0]

Sorry but you are sadly misinformed!  all you have done is repeat misinformation. go to the cdc website and death rates have plummeted by their own data. top scientific institutions, and professionals concede that the vast majority those who have died from Covid are 85 plus years old and have several co morbidities. statistically people have a very slim chance of being harmed by covid, statistically similar to the flu.  the science is available, do not rely on the television or some corporate rag.

[Anonymous]

@Renée40  Due to the novelty of the virus, it is not currently known how long the duration of "immunity" is, and to what extent it's vulnerable to new mutations. The fatality rate associated with recorded infections has decreased in some places for several reasons, but a change in the lethality of the virus itself is not one of them. 

If you have a guest's explicit consent to share common areas unmasked, presumably Airbnb is never going to find out about it - it's not as though they're monitoring your home. But if you opted to covertly have a mask-free household and later discovered that one of your guests happened to be a highly contagious carrier of the virus, would you still stand by your protocol?

[Michael-and-Shelly0]

since according to the covidians, proper mask use is paramount for the alleged mitigation to be effective. at least 80% of the people I see out are wearing them incorrectly, touching them and storing them badly. 

ventilation has been shown to be a very intense carrier and spreader of virus, homes with common ducting and ventilation are very problematic in the covidian model.

Have they specified any type of face covering and if small children are to wear them(what ages?)

and finally, ive got multiple suites here, if I see two seperate guests interacting..... am I to police this?

[Sarah977]

Your information is incorrect. There has been zero proof of immunity from having had the virus. In fact, the opposite is true. 

It is false notions like this that have caused the US to currently have the 7th highest COVID death rate in the world per total population.

@Renée40

[Michael-and-Shelly0]

immunity, kinda like the flu....?

like to see your death rate stat source.

regardless...

how about all that published top tier scientific research over the past 20 years that show face masks provide no protection for the spread of virus! furthermore cloth masks can also be dangerous and in some studies cloth mask wearers got ill more than the non mask wearers.  I will be happily to provide you or anyone with links to the scientific literature.

[Renée40]

Thank you for your candid replies. The real question is though, can social distancing, as I've been doing, be enough? I've happy to use the new cleaning protocol. But as I watch masks being used in the stores, I see service workers who are wearing the same mask all day long, talking to so many people, touching surfaces, touching their masks. To me, they are filthy germ collectors and I wonder if the places they are requiring them more stringently aren't adding to the infection rate by demanding them to be worn. 

On a personal note, I have had serious issues with panic attacks in the past. I had felt I left that chapter of my life behind,  but now find that I  will have them occasionally while wearing a mask in a store. I can't imagine myself surviving an enforced mandate to wear one all the time and in my own home. The income is helping us keep our home but perhaps it's just time to sell and find a smaller place. 

Thank you for your thoughts, particularly those that were shared without rancor or judgement. 

[Debra300]

@Renée40,

The new health and safety guideline: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2839/what-are-the-health-and-safety-requirements-for-airbnb-stay... says that in common or shared spaces, guests and hosts must wear masks and keep social distancing from each other.  It does not say that you must wear a mask all of the time while in your home.  In my experience, guests rarely stay at my property all day, and when it did occur, they usually stay in their suites except to get something from the kitchen or go buy food.  Those short excursions really diminished when we installed mini-fridges in the suites (like you have done).

In your situation, you have two very large guest suites that are almost self-contained.  They have mini-fridges, private bathrooms and laundry access, and a space to eat.  You probably really enjoy the casual interactions with guests, and it is often a perk for hosting.  However, do you think that you'd lose a lot of bookings if instead of offering breakfast in your dining room, you provided the continental breakfast items in the guest's rooms and mini-fridges?  Or, if you put a TV in the guest suites and restricted access to your living room that guests wouldn't book with you?

[Renée40]

Hmmm, It actually is a 'continental type' breakfast. I just lay it out on the table at night and clear it up when they leave in the morning. I could restrict access to the living room, but I can't do the TV thing. They play them too loudly and compete with one another. 

I greet my guests, show them the kitchen where they're aloud to cook, then show them to their rooms all the while staying as far from them as possible. I find that people wearing masks think that they don't have to social distance, which is odd. Staying at a distance is more important, I feel, than putting on that dirty mask you've had in you purse all day. But that's just me. 

So if I greet them with a mask on, though I'm 61 years old and I do have a hard time on the stairs even without the mask. Still, you think that would meet airbnb's protocol. I sent this original message to them, or at least I think I did, but no answer yet from them.