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WHO still recommend not wearing mask, unless you are infected or caring for an infected person.
Yeah, it's a stain on scientific institutions that the WHO and CDC are peddling unscientific nonsense. Makes me sad.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/490308-cdc-may-u...
Per Chris Martenson[1], three reasons for every person to wear a mask: - Stops infected people [including asymptomatic] from expelling infectious particles. - Helps remind you not to touch your face [and precludes direct touch to mouth and nose--where mucus membranes are vulnerable]. - Much better chance of a low inoculum [a smaller initial viral load results in less severe symptoms]. [1] https://youtu.be/i6Gy9nPAQE0…
> Helps remind you not to touch your face Hmm, I'm not sure about this one. Going to the pharmacy today, I noticed some people wearing masks, and just in the short time I saw them, many were adjusting/fiddling with their masks.
In this attempt by the US government to stop this pandemic I found their suggestion not to wear mask the most disgenuine of all, especially knowing that countries with high mask wear awareness see this virus much more under control. In the same paragraph they already express they really need those masks for themselves so they don’t want you to hoard. Another argument was they only help when you sick. So all medical personel is sick? What a BS! Even more when they know you may be asymptomatic for up to 9 days.
The only thing I can think of equal to this would be if during HIV outbreak they were to tell you not to use condoms at all because study shows they don’t protect exact 100% times, and you can cut your member with your nail while you putting the rubber on, making it more prone to infections than when you’re actually wearing one.
Government really messed up on this one. Once the dust settles it will probably go into history books how our government suggestion not to buy/wear mask caused USA to be #1 in statistics.
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> 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.
Interesting 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.
While I agree, it wasn’t just general public opinion. In NYC at least, it was widely stated in the media by government officials and doctors that masks were unnecessary if you’re healthy, and actually could be bad because people were 1) removing surgical/n95 masks from supply, 2) wearing a cloth mask improperly sanitized can make you sick with other things. I like how Jeremy’s site has directly addressed those origin…
The WHO and CDC have been pushing that line as well. Studies linked to in the above article suggest that even home made masks provide some protection to healthy individuals. But even if they didn't, getting everyone to wear them would be extremely valuable for stopping the spread coming from people who don't know they have the disease. Also, "Don't come in hear unless you have something covering your face" is an easy rule for establishments to enforce, whereas "If you have Coronavirus you need to cover your face" is impossible to enforce.
Yet I've seen almost no leadership at any level in the U.S. pushing this (and this seems to be true in much of the West). Lockdowns buy us time, and we seem to be wasting that.
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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.
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>>> ...and I'm giving them a wide berth. Another reason to wear a mask.
Non-medical masks don't keep stuff out. They just keep stuff in, so the only reason to wear it is to not spread your water droplets when you sneeze or cough. Medical masks keep stuff out, but are in short supply. I think I'm helping more by going with the recommendations and not wearing a mask. Some people feel better wearing them, and that's fine too.
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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…
Where is that evidence?
"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."
Most people haven't been washing their hands properly either, and yet the government has gone to great lengths to educate people on how to properly wash their hands. There's no reason they couldn't do the same with mask fitting.
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.
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 discussions about how to disinfect a cloth mask. Kitchen equipment is commonly recommended. Boiling the mask, letting it sit in the oven for some time, etc. etc. You only need to raise the temperature to ~212F or so (boiling) to disinfect. (maybe lower, but boiling is easy because the bubbling water serves as a temperature gauge).
There may be easier chemical treatments, such as bleach when you're washing the cloth mask. But boiling is obviously safe.
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Note that "N95" masks are only 95% effective against viruses (even if you did everything correctly). 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.
I think this "home made mask" idea is very good. We need to leave the N95 masks for professionals, because the USA has a mask shortage (and N95 masks are disposable. One-time use).
Home-made masks can be reused through washing.