Yeah not only are surgical masks not even clinically effective in this situation, they’re often not worn properly. I’m in Beijing now and you see people with ma

Yeah not only are surgical masks not even clinically effective in this situation, they’re often not worn properly. I’m in Beijing now and you see people with masks not covering their nose, or worse, pulled down onto their chin. A friend of mine tried to remind an older lady in an elevator about proper mask usage, and her response was 你们年轻人管太多了 — you young people worry too much/should mind your own business. The people in my compound who were confirmed to have the virus (we found out on the 12th) got it at a family gathering over the new year holiday in Shanghai. So obviously they weren’t wearing a mask then. What seems to be making a difference in China — it’s no longer spreading like wildfire, if you believe the official reports* — is self-quarantine. Most of my friends have barely left home since the beginning of February. For a while, some restaurants that were still open wouldn’t let people sit together in parties larger than 2. And at least in Beijing, everyone who returns to the city after travel must undergo mandatory 14 day home quarantine, with fines or punishments for those caught violating (https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/02/14/world/asia/14reuters-china-health-beijing.html https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/02/14/world/asia/14reut... though enforcement varies from place to place). * Wuhan/Hubei are a tragedy no matter how you count. But at least Beijing is doing OK. I mostly trust the official numbers, simply because the Party has a strong vested interest in mounting a response commensurate with the threat. They can’t let the virus spread too much and rip apart the capital; neither can they afford to tank the economy for several months longer than necessary to contain the threat. Even with all the censorship, if you find yourself fighting against reality, reality wins.