Um…we were talking about whether an airborne virus can spread through a mask. That’s all. But would you mind if I copy-and-pasted that every time someone said you ought to always wear one?
The best common mask standard is N95. These stop >95% of particles bigger than 0.3 microns. That’s pretty good for bacteria. How big is a virus? Small. A micron is 1/1000 of a millimetre. Covid is 0.06-0.14 microns. If you were 5 miles high, a virus is the size of a tennis ball.
But viruses tend to attach to water or mucus droplets, which are bigger. And smaller particles often move with Brownian motion in zig zags and are more likely to be ensnared in a mask. N95 masks work well in hospital settings, which are much higher risk than most other places. No one claims they stop all the virions. When you intubate patients, you’d want a face shield too. And to physical distance and hand wash. Ideally, the mask is single use. Most folks wear them for the day, due to supplies.
Still, the Canadian government ordered millions of N95 masks. On testing, they did not meet the desired standard. The mask you buy from Shamwow (with zinc!, $30) or Dollarama is better than nothing, but it is hard to know how good. When dry (it’s hot outside and breath is moist). And applied and removed (donning and doffed) correctly. And not touched when used - so no eating. Certainly considerable virus could get through with a cough or sneeze. But fifty Florida hospitals have full (127% capacity) ICUs. So little differences might save bigger problems. And now is not the best time to visit theme parks.
But if both people in a tandem are wearing masks, the odds of transmission go down. How much? Some.
For a while, Arizona was #1!!! Go us. Last I looked, we were in third place, but don’t worry, we will be #1 again!
I have a friend who works an essential retail job and she has confessed if someone who is showing respect by wearing a mask or shield asks for something above and beyond, she will go above and beyond. No mask? You get what she has to do while trying her best to avoid being close to you.
Personally, I wear a shield because I think it protects ME better than a mask and I really don’t care that much about the rest of the local herd now.
I used to be a wonderful herd member, I would do all of those things we should in a cooperative society. I wanted to help improve the future. Now I am just praying that things will hold together for the next 20 years so I will die in relative comfort.
Thank you for taking the time to share that with me, it is appreciated. Mask and shield is how I will go from now on. This is totally not how I had planned to spend my retirement!
Of course, I don’t go out much anymore. My maskhole husband* is too embarrassing to be seen with and needlework guilds really don’t work well with social distancing.
*I am wondering if he is starting to go the way of his parents with the Alzheimer’s and this is just the first sign which is really concerning.
Is he taking a statin? Those can cause personality changes. I started a thread about this some time back, although it didn’t go very far. Can’t find the search function on this new site, but here’s a link to a page about it:
Possibly true, but irrelevant. The percentage of people who come down with it after exposure doesn’t vary by region.
It does if some of them have been exposed before.
Great find. Thanks! I wear both. I used to layer up my masks but it’s so hot now that I simply can’t handle it anymore. Now I just wear one nice sturdy mask and a shield. That’s probably overkill but cases are high right now.
There’s a number of studies on the physical properties of masks, water droplets and airflow. They even have it down to the type of layers, in order, for cloth masks that protect both the wearer and those around them. There’s a number of modeling studies of how airborne particles move during singing, coughing, relaxed breathing and laughing. They show this with and without masks. Of course, there’s the meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Most are of healthcare workers but I think I can find the one one non-healthcare workers. Anyway, there was enough science before the pandemic suggesting that masks work which is why several groups went into high gear when the pandemic first started. This is also why the CDC started looking into masks as early as mid-March and made their announcement in early April. So the effectiveness of masks has been pretty consistent. Even the conservative WHO joined in a month and a half ago.
This article by David Frum is good. Maybe a little too good - I wonder if there is a little artistic licence here.
This is quite an ambiguous statement. If you think he is lying, just come out and say so. Exaggerating? Spinning? Get specific–what do you accomplish by being vague?
Frum is an honest guy. I think he is quite principled. The only part that strikes me as disingenuous are the government officials calling him concerned about whether he is lonely or needs anything. And they knew who he was.
I’m sure it happened. I’m just wondering if it happened because he is David Frum and an influential journalist. I’d be extremely impressed if everyone in quarantine received such polite and conscientious service. I hope they did.
I hope everyone who dines at a restaurant receives excellent service too. But if one is known to be a restaurant reviewer, it is impressive if they are treated exactly the same. I’m not trying to be snarky here.
In fact, the fact Frum explicitly points this out, in my mind, is a testament to his principles. I often disagree with Frum, but I respect him and wish more conservatives were as reasonable and well-spoken. I like The Atlantic a great deal too.
I don’t think those 2 live check-in phone calls seem implausible considering that he had been placed under mandatory quarantine. It’s a way of checking up on you, and since they REALLY don’t want you breaking quarantine they might want to know if you’re alone and out of food.
You could be right. It struck me as “de trop”. But it is hardly impossible.
A friend of my niece’s is finishing quarantine tomorrow after moving back to Canada from Australia. She has not received any calls checking in on her.
In a small community it’s quite plausible, since the government folks calling are likely local people, too.
It is. Government officials tend to be reasonably polite, efficient and abrupt. In smaller communities things really are different.
It could depend on the province. Nova Scotia was not doing phone call check ins on self-isolating people until recently. There was even a news article about someone complaining that they weren’t being checked on and were concerned that self-isolation wasn’t being taken seriously enough. I can confirm though, they are doing regular check-ins and phone calls now.