Posted on 04/06/2020 1:34:55 PM PDT by aimhigh
Both surgical and cotton masks were found to be ineffective for preventing the dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19. A study conducted at two hospitals in Seoul, South Korea, found that when COVID-19 patients coughed into either type of mask, droplets of virus were released to the environment and external mask surface. A brief research report is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
During respiratory viral infection, face masks are thought to prevent transmission, leading health care experts to recommend their use during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a shortage of both N95 and surgical masks, which have been shown to prevent the spread of influenza virus, cotton masks have gained interest as a substitute. However, it is not known if surgical or cotton masks worn by patients with COVID-19 prevent contamination of the environment.
Researchers from Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea instructed 4 patients with COVID-19 to cough 5 times each onto a petri dish while wearing the following sequence of masks: no mask, surgical mask, cotton mask, and again with no mask. Mask surfaces were swabbed with aseptic Dacron swabs in the following sequence: outer surface of surgical mask, inner surface of surgical mask, outer surface of cotton mask, and inner surface of cotton mask. The researchers found SARS COV-2 on all surfaces. These findings suggest that recommendations to wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may not be effective.
Tell Tom Wolf who is advising Pennsylvanians to wrap the Terrible Towel around their heads.
That’s ok.
I wear a Jets Wide Receiver jersey around my face.
I won’t catch anything.
Did they do a comparison with no mask at all? I seem to recall something about the viral load having a lot to do with transmission and actual illness.
OK, good to know.
But what about small lingering droplets wafting about from people who breathed within a few feet, or who coughed into a now vacated area 15 to 60 minutes ago?
Any effectiveness there?
I knew it!! Time to dust off your burkas.
Perfectionism is the enemy of the good. The masks were better than nothing, or else there wouldn’t be virus on the masks.
Gas masks are still for sale on Amazon.
> better than nothing
Bingo! Even N95 allow 5% of it through.
Masks help you to not touch your mouth or nose.
As long as you handle the mask properly (don’t touch the inside of the mask when doffing, it can be an effective tool as part of a tool box to minimize potential infection.
Viral load is once it is in you already, how much free virus you have
I would think that a mask would prevent a cough from travelling far at all and contain a majority of the droplets.
I’ll take 75-95% FEWER droplets...
So why even wear the damn itchy things if you are a caregiver? Don’t forget, many of these masks were made in China. Many of their stock has been found to actually CONTAIN THE VIRUS within the mask fabric. Does that sound like a purposeful bio-weapon or what?
Exactly.
.
And if everyone sick, well, and people who think they are well but aren't, wear a mask then:
Now add googles to protect the eyes. The fewer particles you breath in, the more time your system has to react and the less severe your illness is likely to be.
LOL. Sense of humor excellent as always.
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