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Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

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Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#131

Post by Cerium »

Symmetry wrote: post #116
dumbfounder wrote: post #87

Great website, I just have one suggestion. Before the message to wear a mask have in big red letters: "DO NOT GO OUT IN PUBLIC UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! No mask is more effective than simply not being around other people. BUT, if you absolutely must go out..."

To echo this, wearing a surgical mask consistently will maybe decrease your odds of getting Covid-19 by a factor of 3. That isn't the same as being immune so don't take unnecessary risks.

Yet, all we need to stop this is a couple 3x reductions in spread. Staying home is one path. Wearing masks another. We must not take risks, but we should all do what we can.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#132

Post by mindslight »

btbuildem wrote: post #89
nyxtom wrote: post #3

US Surgeon General continues to recommend against this for some reason

They recommend against it, because recommending the use of masks would expose the universal lack of availability of even basic surgical masks. The on-demand system in the US cannot cope with events like this (no stockpiles). So, they're recommending we don't use masks, so that more masks are available for medical professionals, so that when most of us get sick via community transmission (because we don't have masks),…

Just a nit - mask production could have been ramped up throughout January and February, by executive order if necessary, if the virus had been acknowledged as a threat instead of simply being ignored for two months.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#133

Post by hirundo »

dragontamer wrote: post #79

So, here's some information I've been seeing about masks. 1. After breathing in a mask for a while, the outside is now "potentially contaminated" with COVID19. Treat the outside of a mask as if it were infected. Do NOT touch the mask while using it. Do NOT rub your eyes, etc. etc. Do NOT put on the mask backwards. It is recommended to color-code the inside and outside to make it easier to see. 2. There are a ton of d…

> Homemade masks will probably only reach 70% or maybe as low as 50%. You aren't invulnerable, you just have a layer of protection on.

This protection is more than the numbers may seem. See this essay on the benefits of contracting a disease in a smaller dose:

http://www.overcomingbias.com/2020/03/variolation-may-cut-co...

> The most directly relevant data is on SARS and measles, where natural differences in doses were associated with factors of 3 and 14 in death rates, and in smallpox, where in the 1700s low “variolation” doses given on purpose cut death rates by a factor of 10 to 30.

If you can cut the dose by 70%, it gives your immune system more time to ramp up ahead of the virus, which often translates into a more controlled infection with lower level symptoms, if any.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#134

Post by billfruit »

yorwba wrote: post #55
billfruit wrote: post #37

WHO still recommend not wearing mask, unless you are infected or caring for an infected person.

They do not recommend wearing a mask, which is different from recommending not to wear a mask. Edit: Here's the WHO's stance on wearing masks: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...

Thanks for clarifying, I had wrote it wrongly.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#135

Post by amanaplanacanal »

peterwwillis wrote: post #98

If you're not infected, a mask doesn't cover your eyes , so you can still get the virus in the same way you would by breathing near an infected person. And you're probably going to think you're safe, and then touch an infected surface, and then touch your face/eyes. Congrats, your dinky non-N95 mask was pointless. If you are infected, just use any mask. Your breath still escapes from an N95 mask's corners, spreading…

So how do you know if you are infected?

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#136

Post by dumbfounder »

eden_hazard wrote: post #121
dumbfounder wrote: post #87

Great website, I just have one suggestion. Before the message to wear a mask have in big red letters: "DO NOT GO OUT IN PUBLIC UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! No mask is more effective than simply not being around other people. BUT, if you absolutely must go out..."

Most of us on HN are well off and have the opportunity to WFH. Things aren't the same for the rest of the general public. All of those essential workers risking their necks for us should have access to masks.

Here is what the rest of the general public is also doing: “I also see people congregating on the beach that are completely ignoring what we’re doing,“ he said, “and I will remind these folks: You are being very very selfish because you are putting all of us, including our health care providers, at risk.”

from: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/30/maryland-shelter-in...

People are still going out and doing things around and with other people. And they shouldn't be, even with a mask.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#137

Post by Symmetry »

ThrowAway83774 wrote: post #119
Symmetry wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To echo this, wearing a surgical mask consistently will maybe decrease your odds of getting Covid-19 by a factor of 3. That isn't the same as being immune so don't take unnecessary risks.

No, it's a reduction by a factor of 1000 or more. Doctors use them around infected patients and doctors aren't dropping dead like flies.

Most non-doctors aren't wearing eye protection and are probably worse at things like not touching their faces than medical professionals are. This is coming out of a WHO study from Beijingers during the original SARS outbreak who either surgical or N95 masks regularly. For untrained users it seemed that N95 masks were roughly equally as effective as surgical masks or possibly it is all about the droplet spread.

And also, lots of doctors and nurses are coming down with Covid-19 right now despite being careful about their use of PPE.

EDIT: When people first started talking about surgical masks versus N95 respirators one study that came up was this one[1] from Ontario which showed that a bit over 20% of nurses using either of them got infected with influenza over the course of a flu season. Infections happen unless extreme care is taken as with things like Ebola.

[1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/184819

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#138

Post by travisporter »

phtrivier wrote: post #112

Please find a word that means "an ordinary piece of fabric that you can build yourself and wear if you're not sick". At least in France, "Wear a mask" would be understood as "wear an FFP2, surgical-level" mask. The kind of masks: * that we are in very short supply of at the moment (for various and sad reasons) * that we have to save for doctors * that everybody would try to buy on black markets if you asked them to u…

Homemade mask or bandana? Although the latter would probably not fit well over nose and mouth.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#139

Post by pubstik »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #16

Just, 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.

Many of us already own and use 'real' masks, before the covid situation started. People absolutely have the right and the duty to protect themselves and those around them to the best of their abilities (without detrementally impacting others). While those hoarding, reselling at markup, and wasting supplies deserve any and all shame leveled at them, the quality of their PPE is in no way an indicator of such. Many are likely healthcare workers themselves.

Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)

#140

Post by pubstik »

kareemm wrote: post #27

I feel like there's a good business here. Like T-shirts, I can see masks becoming another form of self-expression e.g. branded masks, funny slogans, etc.

Quite a few already doing that.

I know over at coquetryclothing.com they used to decline to make masks due to possible liability reasons. Now they are making custom ones with all manner of fabrics.

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