Free Republic

[H/T CheshireTheCat ]The plastic barriers that shot up at sales counters and order windows across America during the COVID-19 pandemic may actually be facilitating the spread of the virus, not protecting people from it.Multiple studies have now shown that the plastic barriers, common everywhere from grocery stores to restaurants to schools, impede air flow and redirect germs from one person to another. Several experts told The New York Times that, in many cases, the barriers provide no protection from COVID-19 and instead make it more likely to spread.Robby Soave on Twitter: "More pandemic theater: The plastic barriers are worse than...

They were elementary and homemade at first before becoming commercialized and mass-produced, but plastic dividers became as commonplace during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic as the paper masks that now litter city streets. Put up with the aim of blocking droplets from the noses and mouths of the COVID-infected among us, they became a sort of virtue signal for businesses to show that they cared about the safety of their customers and employees. Plastic dividers popped up to separate Uber drivers from their passengers, supermarket cashiers from customers, students from teachers, and virtually every place there used to be unimpeded face-to-face...