Mask wearing: do the opposite of what the CDC/WHO has been saying?

post by shminux · 2020-04-02T22:10:31.126Z · LW · GW · 4 comments

So the standard advice has been not to wear surgical masks if you have no symptoms, justified by the two mutually contradictory arguments uttered in the same breath: "they don't help" AND "healthcare workers need them". Well, it turns out that surgical masks don't help much in a hospital setting, where there is a high concentration of virus-containing aerosol, and N95 respirators or even more stringent protective equipment is needed. On the other hand, the community transmission is much more likely through droplets and surface contact, something where masks are likely to be effective against, especially to avoid infecting others, together with washing hands, disinfecting surfaces and social distancing. Goggles might be a good idea, too, to avoid accidentally touching one's eyes. In retrospect, that was pretty obvious, but hindsight is, well, 2020.

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