[old curmudgeon]

Assumptions about the spread have been wrong.

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And even the conclusions so far drawn from this story are missing a very serious point.

SINCE South Korea requires everyone to wear a mask and since the requirement is enforced, it must be a fact that everyone was wearing a mask at the time of the infection.

If masks are not effective when the wearers are 20 ft. apart, they are truly worthless.

So this test effectively demonstrates that every thing we have been doing to stop the spread of wu-flu has been worthless, other than perhaps the total isolation of everyone, both those infected with it and those who do not have it.

[Eagles6]

Good point.

[Zhang Fei]

[If masks are not effective when the wearers are 20 ft. apart, they are truly worthless.]

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That’s like saying since locks can’t prevent home invaders from breaking down your door, they’re truly worthless. Or that since tanks can’t prevent all RPG’s from penetrating the hull, tank armor is truly worthless. Masks improve your odds and lower the dose. Are you bullet-proof, in viral terms? No. But I think of masks in the way that tankers thought of improvised, hillbilly armor that improved their odds without making them invulnerable. Every advantage is worth seeking out when the threat is an early grave and the prize is staying alive.

Are they an annoyance? Absolutely. I don’t like seat belts either. But the thought of flying through my windshield in the event of a serious collision means I always click it.