Will you Please Wear A Mask Now

Some people seem to forget that physics wasn't just something the teacher spouted off in order to give you a test.

Friction. Resistance.

 

Virus will spread with or without masks, until 70% of people get the virus spread willl continue.
Mask can help only in limited situation when one person directly communicate to other person. In all other cases mask serve as moving reservoir of infection forcing infected person to contaminate everything around.
Virus particles thousands of time smaller then tissue cells.

 

All wrong

 

Um. No.

 

Science says otherwise.

 

Wrong.

 

Right!

 

LOL. It's embarrassing for you. Please just stop. You clearly have no understanding whatsoever of the scientific process, or you wouldn't be spouting nonsense like a 3rd grader.

 

I'm so tired of facepalming the science haters. We've been at this for months. These people are the reason I'm still stuck in my house. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

We'd be DONE by now if Americans had paid a modicum of attention in psychics class. It's almost as if they know how bad Trump is, and want him to fail in November, but complain it's a conspiracy against him at the same time. WTF, man?

At this point, November is a pipe dream. We could have been done by AUGUST at the latest. Instead, we're climbing for the next peak.

Go team!!

 

You are entitled to your opinion.
The problem is that you only see a thin sliver of science, ignoring everything else.
Science is only science if it fits into political agenda.

 

Please let me know which scientist gave you this factoid: mask serve as moving reservoir of infection forcing infected person to contaminate everything around.

 

Search the GOogle

https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-019-4109-x

 

Ah.

We wear our masks once, and wash them. (Or throw away, we have some disposable if we run out of our cloth masks.)

So, your article doesn't dispute my beliefs. People need to be responsible and learn how to wear them. So, I guess if you are an idiot who refuses to learn, wearing a mask is bad.

 

That is what I am saying, you are not taking reality into consideration.
How many people do you think are going to wash those masks?

 

And we have come full circle to my original point. Most countries figured this out and are back open for business. If people would just do the things, we'd be done, too. Too many idiots, though. Too many misconceptions, and the strong belief that it's a world-wide conspiracy plot to get Biden elected.

So, here we are, and will continue to be, until this thing runs its' course. In the meantime, my fire station just closed, our baseball team can't play, and our hospitals are filled to max capacity, because America has a giant case of "The Dumb" and won't do the things.

Sigh.

 

I'm late to this thread since I'm new here, but I singled out this reply as my entry point here as what I'll say in part contradicts the last phrase in the quoted post. I read some of this thread's pages, not all, so maybe someone else has made the points I'm about to make and I apologize if it's the case.

There are several different kinds of masks, including, different kinds of surgical masks. The real medical/surgical grade masks in America (not the flimsy stuff you find in pharmacies and grocery stores, which actually look like real medical/surgical grade masks - they are blue or yellow, have the white ear loops, etc - but are anything but) are rated by ASTM as level 1, 2, or 3, and FDA approved for healthcare workers.

ASTM level 1 masks have a particulate filtration rate at 0.1 micron of 95%. Level 2 improves this to 98%. Level 3, same 98% but with more resistance to wet splashes.

So, ASTM masks have at least the same filtration rate of NIOSH-certified N95 respirators, which is not surprising, because the inside layer of the 3-layered ASTM masks is made of the same material used in N95s.

However, N95s seal better (if they are professionally fit and seal-tested), because surgical masks tend to leak around the edges.

There is, however, a way to enhance the seal, with three interlaced rubber bands, or a neoprene sheet brace. Later I can show to whoever is interested, how to do this.

Anyway, according to recent testing done at the University of Pennsylvannia Perelman School of Medicine, ASTM-graded masks do deliver in real life and in health care situations, the filtration rates above (that is, perform as well as an N95 respirator) provided that the seal is enhanced with the above techniques.

Then of course you also have the N95s themselves (and even higher-rated N99's and N100's but let's not go there, too hard to find). Do realize that the ones with exhalation vents protect the wearer but not the other people, while the non-vented ones protect both.

And you have the FFP2 standard which is the European Union one, also reliable, certified for 94% filtration. And you have the KN95 standard which is the Chinese one; supposedly they also deliver 95% filtration but I wouldn't touch those with a 10-ft pole as there are more counterfeit ones than legitimate ones. Also, there are counterfeit N95s too. One way to spot these, is that *no* legitimate N95 has earloops. All the approved ones have elastic bands that go behind the head instead of ear loops.

And finally, you have cloth masks.

So, where does that leave us?

Well, the coronavirus is 0.1 micron in diameter in average (0.06 to 1.4). Also, particles smaller than 0.3 paradoxically also get filtered by 0.3micron filters due to something called Brownian Motion (see link below).

So, no, it's not that it's not stopped by any mask. It *is* stopped by ASTM masks, N95s, and FFP2 masks. Not all of it. No mask is perfect. But enough of it to lower the relative risk of transmission, BOTH for the person wearing the mask, and for the person interacting with the mask wearer. Even better, of course, is if both persons are wearing one. But masks not achieving 100% filtration, should not be substitutes for social distancing. They should be an add-on.

There is a study I can link you to later, which is a meta-analysis of 216 other papers, on masks (both surgical, and N95 respirators), social distancing, and eye protection (goggles, face shields) and the overwhelming conclusion is that ALL of these provide protection, decreasing the risk of contracting the disease by the mask/shield wearer and social distance-practicing person after exposure to the virus. The study is only with coronaviruses: the SARS, the MERS, and the COVID-19 agents. So they are all done with the small 0.1 micron viruses (the influenza virus for example is bigger).

So, no, it is a lie that masks only protect the other people. They protect you too, the wearer. This lie was initially diffused by the CDC and the WHO to avoid a run to masks and to preserve them for healthcare workers, and it's a shame that they lied. But no, science in a large number of studies show that masks do decrease the risks for the wearer, too.

But... it needs to be the right kind of mask, and worn the right way.

If N95 or FFP2, they need to be the right size for your face, with good fit, and good seal.
If ASTM levels 1, 2, or 3, they need an auxiliary device to enhance the seal (rubber bands or rubber braces) - virtually nobody does that, which greatly reduces their efficiency.
They need to cover nose and mouth at all times, they need to be well adjusted around the nose, and they shouldn't get soiled or wet (although N95s and ASTM level 3s will withstand wetness better), so you shouldn't be touching them, and if you've been to a COVID-19 contaminated area, the external layer of the mask is to be treated as contaminated, so you have to be able to remove it safely not touching it other than the ear loops, and either store it for 7 days for reuse (so that the virus is gone by then) or sterilize it (there are means to do that even at home - I could post about that too, later). Reusing is not ideal. These masks are supposed to be for one-time use. But I understand that in this shortage of PPE, people sometimes need to reuse.

So, what about cloth masks? Not so good for the small SARS-CoV-2 as their microscopic openings are larger than 0.1 microns. They are more efficient for bacteria but lousy for viruses this small. Still, they have some utility in decreasing the projection of droplets although they are less efficient against aerosol. Even high thread count, even a pocket with a filter inside, will never make a cloth mask even approach the filtration levels of ASTM masks, N95s, and FFP2 masks.

What about the flimsy pseudo-surgical masks you find at your local pharmacy? Probably the worst kind. They are nothing. Little piece of paper.

Oh wait, there is worse: bandanas. I saw a study attributing to bandanas a dismal 2% filtration rate.

The bottom line is, almost any mask will *slightly* decrease the odds of contagion... but only ASTM, N95, FFP2 (and presumably non-counterfeit KN95 masks but i wouldn't trust them) will *significantly* decrease these odds, provided that they are worn the right way.

So, how do we find N95s, ASTM surgical masks, and FFP2 masks? Not on Amazon... Not at your local pharmacy...

The CDC has a database of certified makers and authorized vendors of N95s with hyperlinks to their websites, and while there isn't a list of approved ASTM makers in the CDC site (those are regulated by the FDA, not the CDC), I found that many of the legitimate makers of N95s also offer legitimate, FDA-approved ASTM masks and sometimes FFP2 masks. I used this route to purchase both N95s and ASTM level 3 masks (and I made the rubber braces for me and my family). You have to be persistent because the list is long and most vendors only sell in bulk to hospitals and clinics, but some do sell smaller packages (20 N95s, 50 ASTMs) to the general public. Many are sold out but some still have them in stock. It takes time but you'll find them if you're interested and persistent. I used this method and spent about $160 for 20 legitimate N95s and $60 for 50 ASTM level 3s.

I'm posting in a break from work... and don't have the links on me, but I do have the URL for that CDC page at home; I'll add it later, as well as the meta-analysis I mentioned, and the instructions for the rubber bands and the rubber braces.

I have little hope that a lot of people here will read this and follow these recommendations, but if at least one person does and that person avoids a case of COVID-19, I'll be happy that I made a contribution.

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OK, a link that I do have right now is this one:

https://fastlifehacks.com/n95-vs-ffp/

It is very good but with some incorrect statements. One, they sustain that there's been no studies with COVID-19 and mask filtration. Not true. I'll link to some, later. Two, they put the filtration of cloth masks with inserted filters in pockets way higher than what I've seen elsewhere. They talk about Vitamin D and selenium, and while for the former there is some evidence, I don't know of any good evidence supporting selenium. But supplements are a different topic (and I've addressed them elsewhere).

I can't guarantee that there aren't other inaccuracies as I didn't read the whole thing, but otherwise this link above is interesting with many graphs and pics.

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I hope the above is helpful. Sorry for it being so long; it's because this is a complex topic.

 

We can open for business tomorrow.
There is absolutely no reason to continue that madness.
The relative death numbers going down since the beginning of June.
We are already almost five weeks with provisional deaths numbers below averages.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/COVID19/index.htm

There is no need to wear muzzles.
We are not dogs, we are not slaves.

 

What does that mean?

 

Other than people that don't regularly wash their laundry or themselves, why in the world would someone NOT wash a mask?

 

Majority of people do the laundry once a week.
For the whole week they are carrying bag of viruses.

 

I didn't read all the scientific documents on the virus but does it live very long outside a carrier very long? I was wondering about this the other day because WalMart and Aldis near me didn't allow reusable bags in the store when the social distancing first started. Now, both do. I wonder what has changed relative to how the virus is carried around.

I do laundry at least once a week for REGULAR laundry. If I'm sick or something is especially soiled, it gets washed immediately. IMMEDIATELY. I cannot begin to fathom having that kind of stuff just sit for days on end. Yuck.

 

So you wear the same clothes for a week? ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I usually go a day, maybe two, depending, but then it goes in the hamper and I put on fresh clothes.

You don't need a washing machine for a mask. A smidge of laundry soap and a sink will do fine.

 

On a material which absorbs liquid, like paper, or clothing. the survival of the virus is around 7 hours, metal, plastics surfaces up to 48 and 72 hours, except for copper or metals with a high zinc or copper contents.

If you have 2 masks, without cleaning them just let one rest for a day and any virus is dead.

Cleaning is rather easy, just use dish soap, it dissolves grease and fats. The outer protecting shell of the virus is proteins and fats.
Hot water and dish soap, like Dawn, will kill the virus.

That's why washing your hand for 30 seconds and more is recommended, because soap will dissolve the faty protection of the virus and kills it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to explain that.

Now, if I can just get my annoying neighbors to stay quarantined...sigh. They are constantly traipsing about and I've never seen them in the laundry room. ;-(

 

You have to have the virus to spread or. Simply thinking you’re asymptomatic and if, not when something, if anything, appears in 14 days like a fever is not a reason in itself fo have these mandates. Suspecting you have the virus is not the same as actually having it. I have my temp taken everyday before work and the highest I’ve gotten is 97.8. Which gives me further confidence to lower, if not completely remove, the mask after work since that temp alone tells me I don’t carry the virus. I just went hiking today, the sunburn is a SOB but do you think I was going to wear a mask while hiking.

No. Telling people to wear masks while hiking is as hilarious as the sight of someone wearing a mask in their own car. The health department really needs to think this stuff out more. The other health complications one can deal with further down the road.