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They literally just posted this a few days ago https://twitter.com/WHOWPRO/status/1243171683067777024 https://twitter.com/WHOWPRO/status/1243171683067777024 whe

They literally just posted this a few days ago https://twitter.com/WHOWPRO/status/1243171683067777024 https://twitter.com/WHOWPRO/status/1243171683067777024 when we know it's false and that masks do offer some level of personal protection on top of making everyone around you safer, given that you can infect others while asymptomatic.

knzhou 7y ago
Okay, yeah, the mask thing absolutely blows my mind. I have absolutely no idea what their motivation for saying this is, when just about every expert in every east Asian country disagrees.
- temp-dude-87844 7y ago
  That tweet and the attached video are entirely true. It's just that individual people may wish to not chance it, and wear a mask nonetheless, and masks will end up allocated by luck and purchasing power instead of need and risk profile. There's also some evidence that widespread usage of masks may be effective in lowering the risk for such a disease, but deploying widespread usage of masks equitably on a global scale is nigh-impossible right now, so it's counterproductive to focus on it. Distancing is achievable instead, and leads to a similar result.
  - zozbot234 7y ago
    > deploying widespread usage of masks equitably on a global scale is nigh-impossible right now You don't need high grade medical masks to significantly reduce the amount of transmission. Any sort of fabric-based covering on your face can help, just make sure you can comfortably breathe through it. Fabric is cheap and ubiquitous, it's literally everywhere.
    - dariusj18 7y ago
      That doesn't seem right. If the mask doesn't prevent droplets from penetrating doesn't it actually act as more of a trap for potentially viral-laced droplets to gather and get inhaled?
      - bmn__ 7y ago
        Sounds like a hypothesis that affords to be tested. Oh look, the results are already in! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22727761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22727761
        dariusj18 7y ago
        So I think I inferred that PC was referring to wearing a mask to prevent getting infected, which may have not been the case, but in a way needs to have clarification. 100% mask usage would be great, then the particles never get into the air from the infected. I think it's important to not let people think that wearing a simple cloth mask will prevent you from being infected.

knzhou 7y ago

Okay, yeah, the mask thing absolutely blows my mind. I have absolutely no idea what their motivation for saying this is, when just about every expert in every east Asian country disagrees.

temp-dude-87844 7y ago
That tweet and the attached video are entirely true. It's just that individual people may wish to not chance it, and wear a mask nonetheless, and masks will end up allocated by luck and purchasing power instead of need and risk profile. There's also some evidence that widespread usage of masks may be effective in lowering the risk for such a disease, but deploying widespread usage of masks equitably on a global scale is nigh-impossible right now, so it's counterproductive to focus on it. Distancing is achievable instead, and leads to a similar result.
- zozbot234 7y ago
  > deploying widespread usage of masks equitably on a global scale is nigh-impossible right now You don't need high grade medical masks to significantly reduce the amount of transmission. Any sort of fabric-based covering on your face can help, just make sure you can comfortably breathe through it. Fabric is cheap and ubiquitous, it's literally everywhere.
  - dariusj18 7y ago
    That doesn't seem right. If the mask doesn't prevent droplets from penetrating doesn't it actually act as more of a trap for potentially viral-laced droplets to gather and get inhaled?
    - bmn__ 7y ago
      Sounds like a hypothesis that affords to be tested. Oh look, the results are already in! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22727761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22727761
      - dariusj18 7y ago
        So I think I inferred that PC was referring to wearing a mask to prevent getting infected, which may have not been the case, but in a way needs to have clarification. 100% mask usage would be great, then the particles never get into the air from the infected. I think it's important to not let people think that wearing a simple cloth mask will prevent you from being infected.