In order for me to maintain an ethical and safe practice in which my most at-risk clients can continue safely to receive bodywork, and so I myself can remain well and give bodywork safely, I wear an N95 mask for work. I run a HEPA filter, monitor CO2, and often use additional UV sanitization in the treatment room. I follow universal precautions and all high-touch surfaces are sanitized after each session to avoid transmitting any other bacteria, fungi, or viruses that transmit via fomites.

I require that every client wear a mask while we are face-to-face and in session. I can provide a KN95 mask to you before you enter the massage space. If you would prefer to wear an N95 or better mask brought from home, please feel free to bring that with you to wear for your session.

I do not share air. This is for my protection, your protection, and the protection of the people in both our immediate and peripheral social and familial circles.

Covid-19 is airborne and can persist in a concentrated viral load in indoor air for up to a few hours under the right temperature, humidity, and ventilation conditions. Airborne viruses like COVID and measles are spread by sharing breathing space; plus, the infected person doesn’t even have to be present in the space at the same time. “Six feet of distance” between unmasked people or gathering outdoors is no longer a recommendation in stopping the airborne spread by a person who is infected. “Exposure time” is also not in play — studies that have looked at airborne transmission of particles by someone exhaling while talking or singing have shown that exposure to a concentrated viral load can happen in as few as ten seconds if you are close enough in the airspace of the infected, unmasked person.

Refer to this calculator for more information about airborne transmission and its conditions:

https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/sars-airborne-calculator

In the treatment room, we are not distanced at ALL, so I must use other proven precautions to break the potential transmission of every potential infection from one person to the other. In the past, universal precautions and proper sanitation methods (disinfecting hands and surfaces and other cleaning practices like proper laundry handling) in massage therapy have been adequate to mitigate most disease transmission. Now that we are in an age of increasing airborne threats, masking, air filtration, and CO2 monitoring are the appropriate measures to add to a massage therapy practice to help keep everyone safe.

MASKS WORK to mitigate airborne disease spread, especially if both parties in close contact are wearing them. If you have any questions at all about masking, fit-testing, or any other term I use, I am happy to talk with you.

Note that if the courtesy of wearing a mask for an hour or more during your session is potentially a personal (or political) problem for you, then you and I are simply not a good match as therapist and client. If you have a medical or psychological reason for being unable to wear a mask, there are dozens of massage therapists in town who no longer wear or require masks. One of them might be a better fit for you.

You will be asked to answer specific COVID-19 questions when you fill out your intake form and are asked to disclose any changes every time you attend a session. I have a blog post here: https://alisondishinger.com/2023/09/14/a-reminder-about-covid/ with the text of my intake form disclaimer and signature section.

If you are feeling the slightest bit unwell, have a fever or any new symptom, or have had any direct contact whatsoever with a case of suspected or confirmed COVID-19, I ask that you NOT ATTEND your scheduled session and reschedule to a later date. When in doubt: cancel your session, test yourself according to the most current guidelines, and mask up around others people until you are sure you are not infected. I currently do not charge a cancellation fee due to unexpected or suspected illness. Caution is queen.

Please, do not end up being that one selfish, thoughtless person who brings Covid into my office or my life.

I appreciate your understanding.

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For a deep-dive read into why mitigation and inclusion matter, please refer to this post:

https://rant.li/atlettertoourcomradesatrant-li/an-open-letter-to-our-anarchist-socialist-and-radical-leftist-comrades

Spring 2024: It’s gotten complicated, hasn’t it? Now that the CDC recommendations are basically “everyone can go anywhere sick, and wearing a mask is just a suggestion” we are truly in a wild-west of “you do you” (borderline eugenics) and further social isolation of high-risk and immunocompromised people. I feel like I should be wearing a tinfoil hat when I talk to people about how our uncompromising push to “get back to normal” is harming and killing so, so many of us.

Fall 2023: Examples I am hearing in which people got infected, were asymptomatic, assumed they were fine, and then brought the virus to another group or person include: “My husband has it, but I feel fine.” “My kid went to an outdoor event and tested positive afterwards, but I am still negative (or haven’t tested).” “We got together at Thanksgiving last week, and everyone tested negative ahead of time; my sister who was there is sick now, but I’m still fine.” The right answer in all these situations is: reschedule your massage!

Covid has mutated to become much more transmissible for the 2023-2024 winter season. Its job is to stay alive by replicating in hosts; if you want yourself and people you care about, as well as people you don’t know, to be able to stay alive and well too, please exercise caution in your decisions, and think about those around you and how your decisions might affect them. I am a solo practitioner and 100% reliant on my work income to stay afloat. I do not have health insurance. Being out sick for ten days or longer until I test negative has the potential to bankrupt me and permanently shutter my business.