# Why was the American public told not to wear face masks? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 31, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742 "2020-03-31T15:06:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/141 "2020-04-04T05:36:39Z")
It’s not “three days’ worth, tops” because the masks only get worn in our apartment building’s hallways/stairways and while in the store, and are stored carefully the rest of the time. My wife has used hers the most, but it probably doesn’t have even three hours’ “mileage” on it yet. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/142 "2020-04-04T06:14:35Z")
[This article](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2) came out in Nature today. Quick summary: they tested surgical face masks on sick patients to see if they limited the spread of droplets and aerosols. Droplets of influenza virus, and aerosols of corona and rhino viruses where significantly reduced. (Or at least their ability to detect the virus’ RNA on test surfaces was reduced.) It seems that having sick people wear surgical masks may reduce aerosols containing the viruses. Because COVID-19 is asymptomatic so much, it is probably worth it to have everybody where a mask while in public, because some of those people will be breathing out the virus, and there is evidence to suggest the mask will reduce the dispersion of the virus. As for healthy people wearing masks? Will it hurt? Are a bunch of homemade masks on people in the grocery store going to spread the virus more? I was in a hospital for about three hours the other day and wore an N95 mask the entire time. Assume I am not infected. Was I more safe, less safe, or no different than if I had not bothered with the mask? Let’s also assume I would have washed my hands the same, and avoided touching my face the same whether I had the mask or not. For the record, every single hospital employee, whether medical staff, cafe worker, or administrative were wearing surgical masks. Probably about half the non-employees wore them. For non-employees it was a mix of surgical masks, dust masks, N95 dust masks, and the like. Not a single person that I interacted with commented on or in anyway suggested I was silly for wearing the N95 mask. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/143 "2020-04-04T06:37:48Z")
[Surgeon General explains that face coverings should be used in situations when social distancing is impossible](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/surgeon-general-explains-evolution-of-cdc-face-mask-guidance-81619013687)… while not wearing a face covering in a situation where social distancing is impossible. I truly don’t understand anything anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/144 "2020-04-04T06:39:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That’s three days worth, tops. > > Yes, medical personnel go home every day to their families, knowing they may carry something. They take tests of course, monitor their temperature, wash their hands better than we do and what not. > > But yes, most of the cleanliness stuff in hospitals is primarily to protect the patients, not the workers. [N95 masks can be safely decontaminated and reused again](https://www.n95decon.org/) [Chinese scientists have been studying this since Feb 9th](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3QYVWO4kj5qwuSHnhcM9uQ) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/145 "2020-04-04T07:52:42Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > [Surgeon General explains that face coverings should be used in situations when social distancing is impossible](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/surgeon-general-explains-evolution-of-cdc-face-mask-guidance-81619013687)… while not wearing a face covering in a situation where social distancing is impossible. > > I truly don’t understand anything anymore. And this is a bullshit explanation that they only recently discovered that wearing face masks can help protect people from asymptomatic individuals. It think the whole thing that masks are ineffective was just a story to keep people buy buying what the professionals need. Why couldn’t they have said that from the beginning? Of course, the problem is that they didn’t have a plan in place on how to increase the production of masks, unlike Taiwan which has that as one of their first priorities. They went from a daily capacity of 5 million to 14 or 15 million surgical masks and have enough for everyone, although it’s still rationed. We can now buy them from the government online at a cost of 16 cents each. Prices are stickly controlled and any reselling above fixed pricing is a criminal offense. There was a game center which bought a bunch of them and put in those UFO catcher games and were arrested. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/146 "2020-04-04T10:43:59Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Assume I am not infected. Was I more safe, less safe, or no different than if I had not bothered with the mask? Let’s also assume I would have washed my hands the same, and avoided touching my face the same whether I had the mask or not. There is a Chinese hospital report that some staff, wearing surgical masks, exposed to general patients, got COVID-19. But that none of their staff, wearing N95 masks, working with known COVID-19 patients, contracted COVID-19. So yes, wearing a properly fitted N95 mask, you were more safe. The question about general use of surgical masks, where the medical advice has flip-flopped, is much less clear. Surgical masks, as described everywhere, reduce the transmission of aerosol and droplets. And pre-symptomatic people shed viruses. But aerosols and droplets are what you get from the symptoms. I accept the advice, but I’m personally unconvinced. If a pre-symptomatic person is shedding viruses, probably they need isolation and an isolation mask, not a surgical mask. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/147 "2020-04-04T20:50:43Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > [This article](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2) came out in Nature today. Quick summary: they tested surgical face masks on sick patients to see if they limited the spread of droplets and aerosols. Droplets of influenza virus, and aerosols of corona and rhino viruses where significantly reduced. (Or at least their ability to detect the virus’ RNA on test surfaces was reduced.) > > It seems that having sick people wear surgical masks may reduce aerosols containing the viruses. Because COVID-19 is asymptomatic so much, it is probably worth it to have everybody where a mask while in public, because some of those people will be breathing out the virus, and there is evidence to suggest the mask will reduce the dispersion of the virus. > > As for healthy people wearing masks? Will it hurt? Are a bunch of homemade masks on people in the grocery store going to spread the virus more? I was in a hospital for about three hours the other day and wore an N95 mask the entire time. Assume I am not infected. Was I more safe, less safe, or no different than if I had not bothered with the mask? Let’s also assume I would have washed my hands the same, and avoided touching my face the same whether I had the mask or not. > … Sure it will help to have the asymptomatic wear masks, and those homemade cloth ones are fine. They dont protect _you_ that much. One big reason, is that you are not wearing the mask right. You dont know how to take it on & off properly, you will contaminate it. Even if you watch a nice youtube vid on how, it wont be second nature like it is for medical professionals. Since you arent used to it, you will constantly touching it, scratching underneath, etc. The worst thing is that half of Americans have a IQ of 100 or less. They WILL think that wearing a mask is magic virus proof armor, and now that they are wearing the mask, they can go out, do things and not practice safe social distancing. \*\*People are idiots. _If you dont agree- check out the TP aisle at your local grocery store. Idiots are hoarding TP. And idiots are hoarding valuable n95 masks. So yeah, make or get one of those homemade cloth masks, and wear it when out. It cant hurt- unless you now think you can_ go out since you are magically protected. Think of it as something you are doing to protect others. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/148 "2020-04-04T20:53:51Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > [N95 masks can be safely decontaminated and reused again](https://www.n95decon.org/) > … They _can_ be, but laypeople _will not._ For fucks sakes, we werent even washing our hands right. Laypeople also wont put on, wear, use or take off the mask correctly. Laypeople will also now think they can go out in public more since they are wearing magic protection. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/149 "2020-04-04T20:59:27Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > And this is a bullshit explanation that they only recently discovered that wearing face masks can help protect people from asymptomatic individuals. > > It think the whole thing that masks are ineffective was just a story to keep people buy buying what the professionals need. Why couldn’t they have said that from the beginning?.. It’s not some conspiracy. First, they didnt really know about how common and infectious asymptomatic people are (and they still arent sure) . Next, you\* wont \*wear the mask right, and you \*will \*contaminate it. Thirdly, once they say “wear masks” most people- like people right here in this thread- will think it’s Ok to go out more. They still arent sure how effective masks are for protecting _you_. We have linked here to many studies that show the primary benefit is to protect others. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/150 "2020-04-04T21:05:56Z")
If you think Americans will wear masks right, just go to Facebook or whatever, and I am sure someone will have posted dozens and dozens of pictures of contaminated gloves discarded on the ground, instead of properly. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/151 "2020-04-04T21:25:02Z")
**DD** , the way you talk about masks is \*exactly \*the same way “abstinence only” sex educators talk about condoms. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/152 "2020-04-04T21:37:03Z")
And yes, many people cannot be trusted to wear masks correctly. You know what else many people are terrible at? Installing carseats correctly. Does that mean we should change the law from requiring infants and toddlers be in carseats to mandating that they be left at home with a caregiver at all times? Heck, while we are at it: people often don’t vote correctly either. Maybe that should be banned as well. After all, incorrect voting is probably hurting us more than any of the rest of this stuff combined! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/153 "2020-04-04T21:51:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Thirdly, once they say “wear masks” most people- like people right here in this thread- will think it’s Ok to go out more. You’re like the people who said mandatory seat belts would make people drive recklessly. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/154 "2020-04-04T22:19:06Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You’re like the people who said mandatory seat belts would make people drive recklessly. And I was thinking it was the people who say motorcycle helmet laws are dangerous, because people who wear helmets go faster and ride more recklessly than those without. None of that turns out to be true. The real argument is, “I don’t want to wear a helmet, and don’t care about the consequences.” Is the anti-mask argument also, “I don’t want to wear a mask, and don’t care about the consequences?” I’m not sure, maybe it is just complaining about things that aren’t perfect. If a sick person wearing a mask means they spew out 10% less virus, then make them wear a mask. If that means non-sick people also wear masks, fine. In what cases will somebody get sick wearing a mask when they would not have gotten sick without a mask? Maybe I take a “free” mask from the PPE disposal bin at the exit from the hospital? Maybe I use my mask to wipe down the cart handle at the grocery store, and then put it on? The only realistic one that I can think of is people believing they can hang out with their friends as long as they all wear masks. Seeing as how everything says “if you have to go out, wear a mask,” and not “if you wear a mask, you’re safe” I think that will be people only using the mask to feel better about behavior they’re going to do anyway. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/155 "2020-04-04T22:20:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > half of Americans have a IQ of 100 or less To be fair, that’s drifted to 103, but with an SD of 10 on the WAIS, it’s not a significant difference. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/156 "2020-04-04T23:03:05Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In what cases will somebody get sick wearing a mask when they would not have gotten sick without a mask? If people in your community wear masks, you’ll likely see some of them touching the mask with hands that aren’t clean. For example, they come out of the store and pull the mask down below their mouth with their gloved hands that they just touched everything in the store with. If they had virus on the gloves, then they put that virus on the mask, and they might breath it in. Or they may accidentally transfer the virus straight from their glove to their nose when they move the mask down. People should strive to keep the mask as sterile as possible. That means only putting in on with sterile hands, not touching it at all, and then taking it off carefully so any virus on the mask doesn’t end up contaminating another surface. Lots of people in public won’t be that careful and may end up getting infected from poor mask technique. But overall, it seems like widespread mask use should lead to fewer total infections even if some people end up infecting themselves from their mask. It might be how some people would be saved by not wearing a seatbelt in certain accidents, but widespread seatbelt use will end up reducing the number of people who die in accidents. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/157 "2020-04-04T23:06:40Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > And I was thinking it was the people who say motorcycle helmet laws are dangerous, because people who wear helmets go faster and ride more recklessly than those without. None of that turns out to be true. Agreed. Putting on a mask is a way of reminding yourself that you are about to go into a dangerous area, and should be careful there, while doing your business quickly. There also is a message to people who are quarantining due to exposure, and see the people in their country, on television, with masks. The message is that we are in the disease prevention project together. I think that makes compliance with quarantine more likely. This doesn’t mean I think low-quality masks are purely of psychological benefit. Multiple studies, with a variety of older viruses, show lesser disease severity when you reduce the initial viral load. In democratic countries that have come closest to beating this (Taiwan and South Korea), people wear masks. I say to emulate them. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/158 "2020-04-04T23:21:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, because: > > 1. There isnt a excess supply. > > 2. You dont know how to properly wear a mask or even use gloves. I worked for the Coroners office for a year (long story\*) and we got training on how to properly wear those things- especially on how to take them off. By you wearing one, you wont protect yourself but you will give yourself a false sense of security. > > And honestly, just taking the training isnt enough, it has to become second nature. That’s why they are medical _professionals_- and we are not. > > - yes, my speciality is financial crime, but in some CA County the Coroner handles elder Abuse cases, so I was loaned out to help that office with Elder fraud cases- which is where I learned that scam artists don’t target the rich and greedy, they target the elderly. Long story? We got plenty of time, sitting around here not doing much right now. Well, I _am_ trained in both haz mat and nuke preparedness, and oddly enough I still have a couple sets of tyvek, gloves, booties and a scott airpac, but I think I would terrorize people if I dressed out to go to my CBC and port flush Wednesday =) We actually do sort of practice first in first out pantry storage, and had pantry goods for at least a month on hand. mrAru is thinking we might expand to 3 months in the future We di actually have the storage space =) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/159 "2020-04-05T01:34:14Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > **DD** , the way you talk about masks is \*exactly \*the same way “abstinence only” sex educators talk about condoms. :dubious: Sigh. It’s not the way _I_ talk about them, I am only quoting, paraphrasing and citing the medical experts. As opposed to some MB posters who say “well, it’s only common sense” .:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742/160 "2020-04-05T01:35:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You’re like the people who said mandatory seat belts would make people drive recklessly. Why, because I am saying what the medical experts on this subject are saying? With maybe a few more "fucks’ and “idiots” thrown in, I will admit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-american-public-told-not-to-wear-face-masks/850742.md?page=9)