4 ms·

The US Surgeon General went a step further and literally said "You can increase your risk of getting it by wearing a mask if you are not a health care provider"

aweiland 6y ago
The US Surgeon General is also a mouthpiece for the current administration.
perl4ever 6y ago
This might be a garbled valid point? Somewhere I read that among the reasons for ordinary people not to wear N95 masks is that the valve lets air out freely, while filtering incoming air. This would make you more likely to infect others if you are infected, than some other kind of mask. It's not that you increase your own risk per se, but you increase the risk of your class, of civilians, by wearing it.
- jaclaz 6y ago
  Not exactly-exactly. N-95 masks can be with or without valves. With the valve they are pointless if the werarer is positive/transmits the illness. The valveless ones are fine, but both with valve and valveless are not as useful as they promise (filtering 95% or so) because the wearer must be trained to use them AND the masks need to be suitable to the wearer, after a proper "fit test" AND the wearer must be medically tested to be able to breath with reduced flow. The exact method the fit test (and the medical check) is performed varies by country/norm, but check this: https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting_transcript.html https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting... https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=559&v=D38BjgUdL5U&feature=emb_logo https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=559&v=D38BjgUdL5... Basically you choose among 10-12 different models the one that seemingly fits better your face, then you put the mask on, a sort of transparent plastic hood is put over your head and a small quantity of substance is sprayed (usually vanilla or similar highly penetrating odour) under the hood, if you can smell it, the mask is not the proper fit or has not been put on properly and you start again. Then, the particular model of mask with which you passed the test is "your" mask (and you won't use another model). And of course you need to be cleanly shaved. A "surgical mask" has a much lower filtering potential, but unlike the N-95 masks (FFP-2 in Europe) anyone can reach it without issues.
  - perl4ever 6y ago
    >N-95 masks can be with or without valves. I didn't say they necessarily have valves, but all the ones I've seen do. I had one intended for painting, gave it to a local hospital.

aweiland 6y ago

The US Surgeon General is also a mouthpiece for the current administration.

perl4ever 6y ago

This might be a garbled valid point? Somewhere I read that among the reasons for ordinary people not to wear N95 masks is that the valve lets air out freely, while filtering incoming air. This would make you more likely to infect others if you are infected, than some other kind of mask. It's not that you increase your own risk per se, but you increase the risk of your class, of civilians, by wearing it.

jaclaz 6y ago
Not exactly-exactly. N-95 masks can be with or without valves. With the valve they are pointless if the werarer is positive/transmits the illness. The valveless ones are fine, but both with valve and valveless are not as useful as they promise (filtering 95% or so) because the wearer must be trained to use them AND the masks need to be suitable to the wearer, after a proper "fit test" AND the wearer must be medically tested to be able to breath with reduced flow. The exact method the fit test (and the medical check) is performed varies by country/norm, but check this: https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting_transcript.html https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting... https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=559&v=D38BjgUdL5U&feature=emb_logo https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=559&v=D38BjgUdL5... Basically you choose among 10-12 different models the one that seemingly fits better your face, then you put the mask on, a sort of transparent plastic hood is put over your head and a small quantity of substance is sprayed (usually vanilla or similar highly penetrating odour) under the hood, if you can smell it, the mask is not the proper fit or has not been put on properly and you start again. Then, the particular model of mask with which you passed the test is "your" mask (and you won't use another model). And of course you need to be cleanly shaved. A "surgical mask" has a much lower filtering potential, but unlike the N-95 masks (FFP-2 in Europe) anyone can reach it without issues.
- perl4ever 6y ago
  >N-95 masks can be with or without valves. I didn't say they necessarily have valves, but all the ones I've seen do. I had one intended for painting, gave it to a local hospital.