Is it too soon

[Ajac]

I notice there are many masseurs up and running many available now notices. Even a couple of my regulars. As much as I would love a massage I wonder if it is wise. The protests were a distraction to hearing the stats every hour but it seems the covid numbers are still not good.

Any thoughts from board members?

[RBENJI]

I've had two massages (from the same masseur) in the last month, and I'm fine (as is he). As long as linens are cleaned and the space is sanitized or sterilized, I don't see the issue. Some may say it's too soon, but I personally think that depends on YOU.

[Sedtruik]

We’re both wearing masks. No issues yet

[Redwine56]

I notice there are many masseurs up and running many available now notices. Even a couple of my regulars. As much as I would love a massage I wonder if it is wise. The protests were a distraction to hearing the stats every hour but it seems the covid numbers are still not good.

Any thoughts from board members?

Well, right now the #'s in NYC are the best they've ever been. It may take another week to see if the protesters are a factor for an increase. Seeing the #'s in other states which have opened ahead of us is not very encouraging unfortunately. It seems as if when they opened, most people threw caution to the wind, forgot about masks and gloves, started partying like covid was no longer an issue. It is still out there but I believe if we are careful and proceed with caution, we may be able to somewhat enjoy the summer which is desperately needed.

[Cody22]

Well, right now the #'s in NYC are the best they've ever been. It may take another week to see if the protesters are a factor for an increase. Seeing the #'s in other states which have opened ahead of us is not very encouraging unfortunately. It seems as if when they opened, most people threw caution to the wind, forgot about masks and gloves, started partying like covid was no longer an issue. It is still out there but I believe if we are careful and proceed with caution, we may be able to somewhat enjoy the summer which is desperately needed.

 

A lot of these so called bad numbers you're referring to are increases in cases, but not hospitalizations or deaths. There's a huge difference. The majority of the increases in cases are simply due to widespread testing happening now. The media loves to push their fear mongering bullshit but in reality the overall curve is still trending downward. Don't be fooled by the media. Go out and fun. I know I have been.

[Redwine56]

A lot of these so called bad numbers you're referring to are increases in cases, but not hospitalizations or deaths. There's a huge difference. The majority of the increases in cases are simply due to widespread testing happening now. The media loves to push their fear mongering bullshit but in reality the overall curve is still trending downward. Don't be fooled by the media. Go out and fun. I know I have been.

I truly would like to agree with you but using the State of AZ for example, I've heard that their hospitalizations are up to record levels once again compared to when they had supposedly peaked.

[Ajac]

Also hearing of someone who recovered but now needs a lung transplant because of the damage that was done to them makes me pause. I guess I will play it super safe for a while longer. The other thing that sucks ...I can't masturbate with a cat in the room or even pawing at a closed door. LOL

[Guest fm0322]

I am eager for a massage after 3 months! Interesting to me, that almost all the precautions discussed are consistent with good hygiene that I expect in spas and outcall apts. Washing hands, each person being freshly showered, avoiding contact if there are symptoms of illness are the things I expect. The spas I go to are clean, surfaces have clean coverings, the masseurs washes his hands, etc. When testing is widely available, that's even better. When my regular is seeing clients again, I can't wait!

[chirob]

I follow Rentmasseur on Twitter and yesterday was the first time in a while that they flooded Twitter with posts from masseurs who were available for the next 2 (or 4 or 6) hours. There must have been at least a dozen in a 30 minute span!

[Redwine56]

I follow Rentmasseur on Twitter and yesterday was the first time in a while that they flooded Twitter with posts from masseurs who were available for the next 2 (or 4 or 6) hours. There must have been at least a dozen in a 30 minute span!

Yes, the rent is due in 2 weeks! They need to start making dinero.

[+ Yellowrod]

Noticing on Rentmasseur that some providers are stating their measures to keep clients and themselves safe from COVID during these reopening times - employing sanitation, showers and mask-wearing. I'm just worried whether it is safe enough for two people to be so close and possibly intimate?

[Mr. Jones]

Of course it's too soon. We all know that, though we wish it was not the case. The virus is more prevalent now than before. There is no vaccine. The easiest way to get it is to be in an enclosed space with someone for more than 15 minutes, even if they aren't breathing hard. If someone is willing to give you an answer you'd rather hear, ok. But you already know you are risking your life, the lives of those you come in contact with, and the lives of the health care workers that will have to care for the worst cases we create by not waiting till this is actually over. We haven't eradicated STDs and they are far less transmissible.

[Inkdnaija00]

I got massage today. The man was wearing a mask and the place was sanitized...

[kenomora]

It's easier to catch than you think, and pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic shedding is real. I too long for a really good massage, but according to what I know and the stuff I see at work, I have made a personal choice not to take a risk at this time. However, as Mr. Jones has pointed out earlier in this thread, when it comes to a disease as transmissible as this one, there really is no such thing as a personal choice. By taking a risk, you also automatically make a decision for those around you and the public to take a risk with you. I do understand though that providers also need to make a living. This whole situation sucks and I really hope a sustainable medical solution is available soon.

[+ Yellowrod]

It's easier to catch than you think, and pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic shedding is real. I too long for a really good massage, but according to what I know and the stuff I see at work, I have made a personal choice not to take a risk at this time. However, as Mr. Jones has pointed out earlier in this thread, when it comes to a disease as transmissible as this one, there really is no such thing as a personal choice. By taking a risk, you also automatically make a decision for those around you and the public to take a risk with you. I do understand though that providers also need to make a living. This whole situation sucks and I really hope a sustainable medical solution is available soon.

 

I even worry when people on walks I take aren't wearing masks even though I am. I try to take a wide berth around them. It's so highly contagious - per my doctor friends - that is what is so scary.

[+ sniper]

NJ is allowing massage parlors to open on Monday along with barbers. I assume they require masks for both therapist and client.

[+ E.T.Bass]

Massage parlors have re-opened here

yet

where I live we just had the highest weekly COVID death rate.

 

I did visit my DDS Friday, but I am trying to control my risk. I'm not ready to get a massage.

[CheckCar]

I’m touch-deprived, isolated, and very depressed. But I’d rather be all of those things than COVID-infected. Scientists and medical professionals have consistently warned of a second wave without consistent and widespread precautions, and now we’re seeing that wave emerge. I’m continuing to abstain from massages while making small donations to my regular to help him make ends meet. I hope others exercise restraint as well for now.

[big dale]

For those of you saying "it was sanitized" like, how do you know? Did you see the provider pull fresh linens out of a sterilization bin? Did the sheets look OK so you are just assuming? Are we going on the word of providers who have little to no experience in proper sanitation procedures? Seems like we may be thinking with our little heads, gents.

[kenomora]

I’m touch-deprived, isolated, and very depressed. But I’d rather be all of those things than COVID-infected. Scientists and medical professionals have consistently warned of a second wave without consistent and widespread precautions, and now we’re seeing that wave emerge. I’m continuing to abstain from massages while making small donations to my regular to help him make ends meet. I hope others exercise restraint as well for now.

 

I totally agree, except that in the US we never really got over the first wave so whatever we are seeing now is not even the second wave yet.

 

I'd have to set something straight though. Some of the gents here seemed to think that the increase in cases has been due to the increase in testing, but the growing proportion of infected patients requiring admissions to ICUs/requiring ventilators strongly suggests that it's not all due to increased testing but more likely a more widespread of infection in communities, and maybe even an increase in virulence of SARS-CoV-2 now that it has spent some time in the human population perfecting their tools to make their infections more efficient. Most of the media are not pushing any fear-mongering agenda. What I'm seeing at work tells me that the we are so far, far away from being able to return to our pre-pandemic lives.

[+ honcho]

The growing proportion of infected patients requiring admissions to ICUs/requiring ventilators strongly suggests that it's not all due to increased testing but more likely a more widespread of infection in communities ...

 

In his weekly briefing yesterday, California Governor Newsom posted a graph showing that the positivity rate for testing has also had a modest uptick over the past couple of weeks, after having had a long steady decline. The rate has the number of tests divided out, so would also be an indicator of increased prevalence.

[+ Yellowrod]

In his weekly briefing yesterday, California Governor Newsom posted a graph showing that the positivity rate for testing has also had a modest uptick over the past couple of weeks, after having had a long steady decline. The rate has the number of tests divided out, so would also be an indicator of increased prevalence.

 

I'm not surprised seeing these news reports of people jammed together without masks in public. Orange County, which pushed their health official out because she wanted everyone to wear masks, is seeing a pretty strong spike now. Hopefully the public are smart enough to learn a lesson from this.

[musclvr]

So much truth in what others have said here. We are still in the first wave of infections in the US; the geography just changed, and maybe the demographics as more Millennials and Gen Zs get infected. Younger people appear to have a lower hospitalization rate, maybe as low as 4% while for older people >65 years, it may be 20%. Proportionally, people of color appear to be getting hit harder than Caucasians but that may be amplified by socioeconomic and co-morbidity factors. But, all in all, the virus doesn't care who you are, and whether it makes you symptomatic or not - for its success strategy, it's better having people up and about and spreading the infections person-to-person, which makes Millennials and GenZs (our favorite phenotype of masseur) prime vectors for transmission.

 

We are learning a lot about the virus incredibly fast. But with speed comes a lot of preliminary conclusions that turn out to be wrong - a lot of headlines are coming from scientific preprints that have not completed the review process. The popular press takes the preliminary conclusions, amplifies them, and maybe politicizes them. Then when something turns out to be false, there usually isn't the same amplification of the correction. Or, if it fits a political agenda, it's over-amplified to discredit science in general.

 

I think we've still got a potential for a huge wildfire of infections, with too many hotspots. and a high pressure system building (red states, too fast relaxing of lockdowns back to normality, and general non-compliance with whatever the locals rules are), and a high wind warning (resumption of travel, lack of social distancing). Our air tankers aren't ready (no vaccine, no good treatments yet), our firefighters aren't on the ground (no contact tracing), and our backfires and fire lines are weak (non-compliance). (As a Californian, I love my wildfire analogies). A lot of people ignore risks and fewer understand statistics. I have a sinking feeling that late September and October are going to be very ugly.

 

So for now and the foreseeable future until this first wave subsides, I'm jerking off, best I can while my dog is scratching at the bedroom door. If this goes on for many more months, my thirst for human physical contact and my little head may take control, and I may get a massage. But it would be with a masseur that I trust; in SF, I'm lucky to know educated masseurs with some experiences in real health education, including an ICU nurse. And if I do get a massage, it will be much more subdued in the sensual nature than I usually am looking for. And then I will be extra careful about my exposure to others for at least one week, so that my risk-choice is solely on me and not foisted upon unsuspecting others.

Edited June 26, 2020 by musclvr

[dcguy20]

The last massage I had was March 7th. The longer I go without, the more my desire goes into hibernation. The guys I usually see have been traveling, which would have made making an appointment with them a no-go upon their return. I guess I would rather have the peace of mind. That being said, I'm more apt to getting my haircut (2/28 was last time) before getting a massage.

[big dale]

Owing to many of my family members living places like Huntington Beach (the Florida of California as I like to say) it's refreshing to be able to come to a thread about this and not have to argue the logic and common sense of all of it, and why it isn't just a giant global conspiracy to tank the economy and make everyone wear a mask. Thanks guys!