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N95 masks protect healthcare workers because HC workers know how to properly fit them; the general public does not have this training and thus N95 masks are was

N95 masks protect healthcare workers because HC workers know how to properly fit them; the general public does not have this training and thus N95 masks are wasted on the GP. Another part of the confusion is that early on (six weeks ago) the assumption was that the virus spread like the flu, i.e. via droplets from coughing and sneezing. Masks alone (without face shields) are of little benefit for droplet-spread disease because they don't protect your eyes. Now we know the virus spreads via aerosols which are generated by talking or even breathing. Cloth masks do indeed help for aerosols by trapping virus particles electrostatically and by increasing humidity, both of which keep the virus out of your respiratory tract. Or so the latest thinking goes. Hanlon's Razor applies, but this virus is also an insidious bastard that behaves very differently from what public health experts had expected.

ashtonkem 7y ago
I don’t buy it. First of all, there are very different rationales for healthcare workers and the general public to wear masks. Healthcare workers know they will be exposed, so the protocols must be damn near perfect. The general population does not know if they’ll be exposed, they’re trying to work in aggregate to put a drag on the viruses’ spread; even partially effective mask wearing slows that down. The general population can also practice social distancing, while healthcare workers must spend hours in close personal contact with positive patients by the nature of their jobs, vastly increasing their risk. Second, this ignores the fact that mass mask usage prevents you from getting someone else sick. This is in fact exactly why surgeons wear surgical masks. Since we’ve known for months that this disease has asymptomatic transmission, the public health rationale for even cloth mask usage was obvious from the very beginning.
- 8ytecoder 7y ago
  I used to think like what OP said. But after seeing the response in Asian countries with their much larger families and denser cities working against them and yet slowing the spread, masks might be playing an important role there. It also reminds everyone constantly. It does stop me from touching my face as well. So yeah, even if it's not perfect it's going to help quite a bit.

ashtonkem 7y ago

I don’t buy it. First of all, there are very different rationales for healthcare workers and the general public to wear masks. Healthcare workers know they will be exposed, so the protocols must be damn near perfect. The general population does not know if they’ll be exposed, they’re trying to work in aggregate to put a drag on the viruses’ spread; even partially effective mask wearing slows that down. The general population can also practice social distancing, while healthcare workers must spend hours in close personal contact with positive patients by the nature of their jobs, vastly increasing their risk. Second, this ignores the fact that mass mask usage prevents you from getting someone else sick. This is in fact exactly why surgeons wear surgical masks. Since we’ve known for months that this disease has asymptomatic transmission, the public health rationale for even cloth mask usage was obvious from the very beginning.

8ytecoder 7y ago
I used to think like what OP said. But after seeing the response in Asian countries with their much larger families and denser cities working against them and yet slowing the spread, masks might be playing an important role there. It also reminds everyone constantly. It does stop me from touching my face as well. So yeah, even if it's not perfect it's going to help quite a bit.