The New York Instances and Washington Post have now come round to a position I advocated for right here on Medium last week: We should always all be wearing masks. Not just health care workers, but ALL of us. At any time when we exit in public.
Why?
Because they work.
Research from the SARS outbreak in 2003 shows that washing palms 10+ times day by day was fifty five% efficient in stopping virus transmission; wearing a masks was actually more effective, reducing transmission by about 68%.
Combining multiple types of protection — hand washing, mask wearing, gloves, and another layer of outerwear (gowning) — was ninety one% effective.
Read that again: 91% efficient at stopping virus transmission.
COVID-19 and SARS are similar types of viruses (coronaviruses), and it is sensible that what works to stop transmission for one will work to stop transmission of the other.
Masks work, first, because they are a physical barrier to whatever’s driving alongside on that air you’re breathing or moving through. Right here’s a chart showing the relative barrier effectiveness for varied supplies:
Secondly, they work because they keep you from touching your face all day long. The masks makes you more self-acutely aware of the truth that you’re not supposed to touch your face- specifically, your mouth, nose, and eyes, and the areas around them- and in the event you accidentally do, you’ll contact the mask, not your skin directly.
Third, the experience of other international locations who masks show that masks work in the real world. Within the words of Jeremy Howard, researcher and Masks4All activist, explaining a chart in his latest Youtube video showing how some countries have successfully “flattened the curve” on new infections: “If you take a look at all of the nations which have flat curves, they are international locations where masks-wearing is extraordinarily normal, and NOT wearing a mask in places like public transport could be considered anti-social.” He notes that the Czech Republic went from zero mask usage to 100% in 10 days, and within the process they halted the expansion of new covid-19 cases. The Czechs made their own masks- the federal government didn’t give them out.
Should you nonetheless must be persuaded, check out this Chinese examine of a neighborhood outbreak case on January 22 during the peak Lunar New Year travel season. A sick particular person on the bus who did not interact with anybody spread the virus to 7 others, a few of whom had been seated much more than 6 ft away. Two new passengers caught the virus 30 minutes after the original sick particular person had left the bus. NONE OF THE PEOPLE WEARING MASKS WERE INFECTED. Read the article, it’s very detailed, with a schematic of precisely the place folks had been sitting on the bus.
So let’s say you’re convinced, and now you’re thinking of some type of face covering. What are your options?
First, please don’t buy masks commercially, if by some miracle you may discover them now. Commercially made PPE must be reserved for medical personnel at this time. Sadly, the shortage of commercially made PPE, and the dearth of foresight that caused us to be in such a position of shortage, is probably why we initially got this messaging of “Masks don’t work!” They do, people just didn’t want you to understand it for a while, to keep away from a run on masks. Think of the empty shelves in supermarkets throughout America where bathroom paper used to live, and also you understand why.
The simplest thing you can do to masks NOW are to make use of supplies around the house. Get creative; anything that covers the mouth and nose and stays in place will work.
While it’s greatest if the masks suits well and there are not any gaps between your face and the outside air, don’t hand over on your homemade masks in the event you can’t achieve that. Any face covering will keep you from touching the skin around your nostril and mouth directly, which could become an important mechanism by which masks block virus transmission. When you inadvertently touch your face while you’re wearing a masks, you’ll just contact the masks, not your skin.
You may try to form your face covering utilizing pipe cleaners or opened-up rubber-coated paper clips in the half that goes over your nostril to make a tighter fit — experiment. Crucial thing is that you just wash your hands, put in your face covering, and exit of the house protected.
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