Plus I see half the people wearing masks, but not covering their nose. And I also see people wearing a mask, and then touching their face around the eyes.
Points being that he mask might be effective if you are already infected & you want to avoid sharing virus particles with those around you.
bp
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No, but neither are any of the other types. The biggest benefits of a mask are
1) You can't touch your face .....which you do on average 20 times per hour without even thinking about it.
2) It keeps your own germs contained to your face.
I.E.: It protects the people around you better than it protects yourself. A cloth mask does both of those things just as well as a disposable paper surgical mask.
No face mask is going to keep you from breathing in virus particles (no, not even the N95 masks). In a study they had people wear different types of masks around flu* patients at home. The control group wore no masks at all. This was considered ethical because at home the default state is not wearing masks anyway. The result was that masks reduced the chance of catching the flu, but it didn't make a big difference which type of mask people had. We can shout about wearing the N95 mask "properly" with a good seal and yada yada, but how many people are actually trained for that and how many will be diligent about keeping the mask sealed at all times?
*(I know this virus is not influenza, but it spreads through the same basic mechanisms).
On 3/23/2020 11:50 AM, Jay Weekley wrote:
Are they effective for filtering the virus?
Adam Moffett wrote:
My wifey got out her sewing machine and made a stack of cotton face masks yesterday. Apparently local doctor's offices were asking for them to be donated. Some hospitals need them too, and maybe your friends and family need them.
If you or someone you know can sew it's something helpful you can do with that skill.
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