US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
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Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
11–20 of 156 posts
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#12US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
They need the masks for medical professionals and first responders basically. Surgeon general is thinking about the greater good here.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#13US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
> for some reason
They recommend against wearing medical to help cull the shortage, and they recommend against wearing non-medical because they can provide a false sense of security, especially when worn incorrectly. Both very good reasons, IMO.
I just assume that anyone wearing a mask is doing so because they're infected, as per the recommendations, and I'm giving them a wide berth.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#14Interesting how the public opinion on this turned around as the virus spread. I wonder if this will lead to people in the west wearing surgical masks during flu season like people do in Asia.
> I wonder if this will lead to people in the west wearing surgical masks during flu season like people do in Asia. Normalizing masks will also help fight facial recognition. IIRC, the Chinese systems have trouble with people who are wearing a surgical mask and sunglasses. No attention-grabbing dazzle makeup required.
Until the government bans masks in public places in the interest of, you know "public safety" once the covid-19 crisis blows over.
It sucks that we even need to think about wearing masks to escape facial recognition.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#15US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
I still find it difficult to understand if homemade masks actually reduce, due to all the different messages out there. Even the links provided in the Google Docs (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HLrm0pqBN_5bdyysOeoOBX4p...) are more focusing on professional masks.
I even heard an "expert" saying on national TV that non-professional masks were worse, because the virus could actually stick to it :S
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#16Just, please please please make sure they're home-made masks. If you have any professionally-created surgical masks, you should donate them to healthcare workers, who need them much more than you.
I live in Manhattan, and I still see people walking around outside with "real" masks.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#17US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
I'm wondering about this myself. I mean I can understand not wanting to put pressure on the health system by adding extra supply, but homemade masks - even a bandana, must ad at least some protection. Even if it only reduces R0 by a few procent that would mean a lot?
They say it creates a false sense of security, which makes people more careless, which spreads more infection.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#18US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
If they recommended it, people would definitely hoard them. There isn't even a shortage of toilet paper, but people still hoard it.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#19US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
They need the masks for medical professionals and first responders basically. Surgeon general is thinking about the greater good here.
See that the link is advocating for people to use homemade masks. They won't take way masks from health professionals. The base of the argument is that self-made masks are also useful and can help contain the virus.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#20US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason
It's stupid. N95 masks are in short supply and so should be reserved for healthcare workers and those caring for the infected but sugical masks can still help slow the spread. People should be weraring those in public. But the only messaging from the top is not to wear the masks
There seems to be evidence that masks can make your exposure worse by trapping some amount of air containing the virus under the mask, making you more exposed. If you are sick they can protect others around you, but if you are healthy, less so. In that context the flip of public opinion makes some sense: as we go from assuming most people are healthy to assuming most people are sick, masks for everyone in public can help.
Also, don’t forget that in medical facilities N95 masks are fitted specifically to individuals. You can’t just throw one on and be protected. Most people won’t go through the trouble of doing that properly. At that point it’s like putting your shirt over your nose: looks like you are protected but there are giant gaps that let in air.