Mask will not keep you safe. For the follow the science crowd, where is the science to support this? My problem with it is multifactorial. 1) we've lost the social distancing message by everyone focusing on masks. Cloth and surgical masks will not protect you from a 1 micron sized virus, nor will it protect others. Will it stop spittle and such, yes, but if you were social distancing you wouldn't need to be concerned with that. 2) the overwhelming majority of people have been wearing mask for a month now, with no effect on declining the numbers. 3) false sense of security, look how close people get when wearing a mask. 4) people are constantly touching their face to adjust the mask which is a terrible thing to do. Don't believe me:
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/covid-19-faq.html#cloth-face-coverings
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]https://www.captainsjournal.com/2020/05/28/new-england-journal-of-medicine-on-what-masks-cant-do-regarding-sars-cov-2/
There is an abundance of research proving cloth face masks and surgical face masks do not filter a less than 1 micron size virus. If it did, why aren't they recommended during flu season? I'm not telling people not to wear them, you can if it makes you feel better, but the message should be keep your distance, keep clean, DON'T touch your face without sanitizing. The mask message has been out front for weeks and weeks now, but look at the numbers. Even if you could get a good fit, had a fit test, used an N95, were clean shaven, etc, etc, it wouldn't block a virus this small. My biggest concern is the false sense of security and people constantly touching their face.
There is other research to suggest the wearer is at increased risk of contracting the virus once it gets in the mask because it is warm and humid and quickly multiplies. This disease severity is highly dependent on viral load and clearly that increases the wearers viral load significantly.
Wear it if you want, but the numbers won't go down from the mask. It will only go down from smart distancing, sanitation, hygiene, and don't touch your face. [/FONT]
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