First, let me state that in addition to the early date of the article... and thus limited information (I believe one was 3/2, when we had like 50 cases in the US)... the calculus is very different, and the article is really talking about N95 masks, which are a different story. The article clearly says, we need these masks for healthcare workers... if he was saying they didn't work, why would he be saying that?
(05-19-2020 05:13 PM)TripleA Wrote: Do you honestly think the physics and associated logic has changed since March? Of course not. Masks can trap the virus. And if you touch it at ll, you ruin it's ability to protect you, however small it was to start with.
The physics haven't changed, but the calculus clearly has.
As to the physics... your comment here implies that you don't have it and would be better off having the disease hit your face because you weren't wearing a mask... than if you wore a mask that 'trapped' the virus and then you touched it. The physics of that makes zero sense. If the mask trapped it, you would have been exposed 100% of the time without the mask. IF you mess up and touch the mask... and then IF you touch your mouth or nose... you are exposed.... which is something less than 100% of the time. Saying that this somehow implies that the mask does no good and could make it worse is factually incorrect.... not to mention that nobody has suggested a mask, but not watching what you touch or frequent hand-washing. If you wear a mask, you should wash your hands and the mask (or replace it if you can) frequently.... but if it only cuts the exposure frequency by 50%, that's just as effective as the flu vaccine. If you have it and it traps it on the inside, that only proves that it kept at least SOME of the VOLUME of the disease from being transmitted. Even if you wiped the loogie out of the mask and then wiped your hand on a handrail, you've still left some of the disease on the mask... and the diseases is concentrated in a smaller area.
The fact that you can find an article that supports a minority opinion does not remotely make it the consensus 'best practice'. I can still find articles suggesting that Trump is a Russian asset.
Quote:Wear it if you like. I wouldn't make fun of you. But if you think it's protecting you from anything, it's not. You're doing others a favor if you're coughing or sneezing.
I'm glad you support people making their own choices. There are many who don't.... some on here. I agree that it is mostly about protecting others, but it DOES protect you to a VERY minor extent... and mostly it is a constant reminder to be mindful of the situation... both to the wearer and those around them. It DOES protect you from touching something or someone that was exposed, and then touching your mouth. Yes, you can fail and go around the mask, but again... if you only do that half the time, then it was effective.
Quote:Which reminds me, there is zero proof that you can spread the virus when you're asymptomatic, b/c your natural antibodies are still keeping the virus under control.
actually there is proof... it's on the CDC website and I linked it.... and you could more likely be symptomatic, but because you're healthy and have a strong immune system, brush the mild fever, occasional cough or mild nausea off as 'something else'.
(05-19-2020 06:54 PM)Kaplony Wrote: LOL
These masks do not even stop all of the water droplets.
Put your homemade mask on and open your freezer. Exhale. That cloud you see is body temperature water droplets.
So yes, it might stop the covid saturated loogie you hocked up when you sneezed. Problem is when you reached up and adjusted your mask that became dislodged and slid off your nose when you sneezed you just transferred the virus to your hands, which you will now transfer to the next few things that you touch.
As I have stated many, many times....the science behind PPE hasn't changed just because the government wanted to give the masses a placebo.
Nobody said it did stop all the water. Even an N95 doesn't. The fact that you're having to argue with something nobody said should tell you something. Do your same experiment with an N95, with a mask and with nothing. It's the volume that you are reducing, and the less of something you put out there, the less likely it is to infect others.
Again, your example without a mask... you sneeze and spread that same disease randomly over 15 feet (large AND small particles) rather than 6 (mostly small particles). That's meaningful... and you probably put your hand within that sneeze spray, so you're still in a better situation IF you wear a mask but then do everything wrong... vs not wearing one. If you adjust your mask and then wash or sanitize your hands which is the suggested protocol... you're much better off.
You're right that the science behind PPE hasn't changed... Healthcare workers wear masks in addition to frequent hand washing, gelling in and out, AND they require flu shots or masks by all employees during flu season, even those who don't touch patients... and regularly offer masks for free in clinics and hospitals during flu season to reduce the transmission. OBVIOUSLY they do it because it works better than doing nothing... and that hasn't changed.
Again, I'm not saying that we should have done all that has been done. IMO, a lot of it is very clearly over-kill.
What I'm saying is that 'good flu hygiene', which includes masks, gloves, sanitizing wipes, hand washing and hand sanitizer... ALL things that existed and were practiced, even at your grocery store IS a best practice. It DOES reduce the spread of casually spread diseases like this one. A big part of flu prevention is also the vaccine that about half the population gets... When faced with something that we believe is 'worse' than flu, and doesn't have a vaccine etc etc etc, it is a good idea for even more people to practice good hygiene. I can't believe that doesn't make sense to everyone.
It's almost universally scientifically supported, it's demonstrable, it's logical, it's courteous and the 'harm' of it is next to zero. Don't throw in 'closing beaches' and 'laying off workers' with the above.... but also stop saying that 'they cause harm' or 'they don't work' when on average, they so demonstrably do... AND... acceptance of this means we don't give politicians ammunition to do a lot more to halt the spread.