Welcome to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Mask Bloc

^{Established February 28, 2024 / Page updated 10.3.2024}We are a group of people who have come together to obtain, provide, and distribute free and high-grade virus mitigation for SARS-COV-2 and other airborne viruses and illnesses, like RSV, mpox, H5N1, and influenzaYou can request FREE respirators and COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at this link and find our other links collected here.The QR code on all our graphics should also re-direct to that linktree, so feel free to save a copy to your phone for easy sharing!

About Mask Bloc MSP

^{Established February 28, 2024 / Page updated 10.3.2024}

A cartoon image of someone wearing a mask. It says, "Wear your mask! Stay safe MN"

We are...

A group of people who have come together to obtain, provide, and distribute free and high-grade virus mitigation for SARS-COV-2 and other airborne viruses and illnesses, like RSV, mpox, H5N1, and influenza.

We believe, based on current research:

• SARS-COV-2 / COVID-19 is still spreading through the population, primarily via airborne transmission• SARS-COV-2 is a serious illness, with high possibilities of complication during and after infection• Infection/re-infection and spread of disease should be limited as much as possible• We as a worldwide society possess the resources and technology to stop the spread of disease like SARS-COV-2, mainly:
1) Wear good fitting, high quality masks
2) Test regularly
3) Quarantine/isolate if ill &/or if you test positive, and until you sequentially test negative
4) Stay up to date on your vaccines• Our local, state, and federal governments have failed to give us access to these mitigation measures, so we must undertake acquisition and distribution ourselves

Our mission is:

• To make as many mitigation measures as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, and
• To make scientifically well-researched, up-to-date information on illness and all types of mitigation accessible & easy to understand, and
• To make that information available to as many people as possible

Our concrete goals include:

• Individually (as bloc members or affiliates) providing mitigation measures & information in places we frequent, especially during personal time & political action• Encouraging local organizations, especially those focused on community care, to recommend or require masking• Finding & creating opportunities to get mitigation measures (like masks, tests, nasal sprays, mouth washes, and air filters) into our hands to distribute at low/no cost (donations, auctions, etc)• Setting up refillable/serviceable mitigation stations in frequented places like transit stations or near shelters where people wait for beds• Coordinating with Community Kitchen & Sanctuary Supply Depot to see if we can get mobile mitigation to encampments &/or regular mitigation measures donated to them

Information

A collection of posts we've made with information to share.

Go To...

Best Practices for Taking Rapid Tests
What is Viral Load?
COVID / AIDS Solidarity (World AIDS Day)

Rapid Testing Information

Text transcribed below!

A text-dense flier titled MORE COVID-19 TESTING RESOURCES.Section 1: COVID.gov or special.usps.com/testkitsFREE - no shipping or test costs
Per household/mailing address
2 boxes (4 tests) in two orders
8 TOTAL RAPID TESTSIf an order has not been placed for your address since the program reopened on September 25, 2023, you can place 2 orders nowSECTION 2: testinglocator.cdc.govsearch by geographic area nationally
sources for rapid (point-of-care) or lab-based NAAT tests
Other links to CDC pages on COVID-19**The CDC has made many choices since 2020 that have not aligned with scientific research or best practice, especially as our understanding of the SARS-COV2 virus has changed. Please use their sources with caution or check peoplescdc.org for some current best practicesSECTION 3: Rapid Test best practicesTest more than once! Sequential testing over multiple days is bestTesting on days 3, 4, and 5 after a crowded event or potential exposure helps avoid FALSE NEGATIVESDon't eat for 30 minutes before the testBlow your nose, wash your handsSWAB YOUR CHEEKS, THROAT, AND NOSE.Swab between both cheeks and lower gums and turn the swab a few times.Swab on your tongue as far back in your throat as you feel comfortable.Swab your nose as your test directsThis information was sourced from the People’s CDC and Ontario Health

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What is Viral Load?

Some people wonder what the point of avoiding COVID is if they're "just gonna get it anyway," but ANY amount of virus you can skip putting into your body is helpful, ALL the time!For an example of somewhere else viral load matters, HIV/AIDS research has progressed so that the viral load can be diminished in patients with HIV to the point where it is undetectable, meaning it is a certain very low level in the blood. When HIV has reached a viral load that low, even in positive individuals, it is UNTRANSMISSIBLE TO CHILDREN AND PARTNERS, which is incredible and world-changing for people living with HIV and their loved ones.

❓ What's a "viral load?"🦠 It means the amount of the virus that has entered your blood! Higher viral load = more virus copies found in 1ml of blood.For SARS-CoV-2, we know that a higher viral load leads to a higher risk of serious complications.To DECREASE the amount of virus you possibly receive from someone else, it's best to use a "Swiss cheese" model of protection: many layers of mitigation (aka prevention)This means if one of your prevention measures fails, the next will hopefully not–If you're protecting yourself or caretaking for someone else, even if you think you will inevitably catch COVID, taking precautions will still prevent a higher viral load, which may prevent recovery, further complications, post viral effects, and other problemsAlt Text for An illustration titled the Swiss cheese respiratory virus pandemic defense. The subtitle is recognizing that no single intervention is perfect at preventing spreadOn the far left are many green illustrated virus particles on the far right is a human figure in between them are many slices of Swiss cheese with holes. The holes line up in some places and not others. The left section of the cheese is labeled personal responsibilities and the right section of the cheese is labeled shared responsibilities. The summary at the bottom reads each intervention or layer has imperfections or holes. Multiple layers improve success.The individual cheese layers from left to right are: physical distance, stay home when sick, masks, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, avoid touching your face, if crowded limit your time, fast and sensitive testing and tracing, ventilation outdoors, air filtration, government messaging and financial support, quarantine and isolation, vaccines

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Back to Other Info

HIV / AIDS &
SARS-COV-2 / COVID-19
SOLIDARITY & COMMON GROUND
(World AIDS Day 2024)

Clickable sources to everything in our World AIDS day slideshow. Transcribed slideshow to come.

TWIN CITIES HIV TESTINGRed Door
Minnesota Community Care
The Aliveness Project
North Point Health & Wellness Center
Family Tree Clinic
Clinic 555
OutFront Minnesota
Planned Parenthood

TWIN CITIES COVID-19 TESTINGOnly Walgreens is doing PCR testing for un- and under-insured people in the Twin Cities right now. All other tests are Rapid Antigen Tests, as of 12-1-2024Family Tree Clinic
Mask Bloc MSP
Phyllis Wheatly Community Center
Minneapolis American Indian Center

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Contact

Our mask request link is hereIf you have other questions, want to get involved, or want to keep track of what we're up to, follow us at our social media below.