Please folks use common sense, This is a virus and can be dangerous. Masks can help and this post of knowing when to wear them is imporntant. But as a health care professional I have to say not just any mask will protect you.
If you buy those mask packs in the store turn them over and you will notice a caveat: “not for medical use”. They are dust masks and will not protect against virus.
You must wear at least an N95 grade or better. And those cloth masks you make or buy> are useless. A mask is not a mask. Surely you don’t think we wear dust masks in surgery in the hospitals do you?
Those dusk masks are of no more help than a false sense of security. And most are made cheap in china. Get a medical grade mask and don’t wear the same one all day.
Even the best ones only last a few hours. Your best protection is washing your hands and keeping your distance. Just a few feet is good ... folks this is a good reminding post and we need to be vigilant. This virus is real. You don’t want to get it
Good post. Lots of sensible advice there. It answers the concerns in my post #17.
I do have a question. Just how good are those N95 masks? Has any neutral party tested that? All else being equal (distance, etc.) do they reduce long-term infection risk by 5%? 95%?
“This is a virus and can be dangerous.”
You talking about the viral stupidity that surrounds this imaginary disease right?
They do not.
I am in my 58th year as an environmental health and safety professional in heavy industry, big agriculture and R&D, with more than a half-century of hands-on experience with personal protective equipment including, specifically, face masks. As to their effectiveness with respect to transmission of a respiratory virus, I say without reservation that even a properly selected, properly applied and fit-tested, properly worn and properly maintained N95 mask (which nearly all are not), even when worn by a person trained in their use will not provide protection from a respiratory virus.
The physical reality is that a mask does not, can not and will not protect the wearer from exposure to, getting sick from and spreading a respiratory virus. Masks can be very effective with things such as pollen, dust and other particulates which are massively larger than a virus ... but they do not provide protection from a respiratory virus. That I have heard doctors advise their patients who, due to comorbidities or other factors must do everything possible to avoid exposure to a highly contagious respiratory virus, that if they wear a mask and if they avoid people who aren't masked they will be relatively safe ... the implication being that a mask will protect them from contracting the virus. This is not true and I find this advice from doctors who damn-well know better (or at least they should know better) to be irresponsible, unconscionable and potentially dangerous to their patient ... and yet many continue to do so.
So, I agree with your advice and supplement it with noting that if you're sick -- if you have the virus symptoms -- stay home and away from other people until you're better. Stay away from people who have virus symptoms with the clear understanding that whether or not they (or you, or both of you) are wearing a mask has no effect on virus transmission. Do your very best to avoid confined, crowded spaces and do whatever you can to keep your immune system healthy (I use Quercitin with zinc along other supplements that I find keep me feeling great ... at 75.) Cheers! & be well.
>> Your best protection is washing your hands and keeping your distance.
No, your best protection is your GOD-given immune system!
Take good care of it. That means, among other things, breathing out in the open (not strangled by an N95 mask) the way you were CREATED to breathe, so that your body receives the oxygen it was meant to receive.
Also vitamins C and D. And keep a combo prophylactic/remedy like ivermectin on hand.