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The logic the Netherlands used to counter the "only can help" argument is that wearing cloth masks can lull people into a false sense of security where they are

by tdfx 6y ago

The logic the Netherlands used to counter the "only can help" argument is that wearing cloth masks can lull people into a false sense of security where they are less observant of social distancing because they are overconfident in the protective power of the mask. I'm not aware of any study that confirms or debunks this but from a neutral point of view I would say it's at least plausible. For the record, I wear a mask.

rumanator 6y ago
> The logic the Netherlands used to counter the "only can help" argument is that wearing cloth masks can lull people into a false sense of security That line of reasoning makes no sense because it leaves out the fact that the conclusion is drawn from the comparison between a) wearing a mask in public and b) stay locked down indoors while avoiding all social interaction. The conclusion was never drawn from a comparison between a) wearing a facemask in public, and b) not wearing a facemask in public. Additionally, during the onset of the covid19 pandemic there were indeed some health officials that argued against mass adoption of facemasks and other personal protection equipment such as latex gloves. However, their rationale was that this would increase demand so radically that it could jeopardize their availability to frontline workers.
- tdfx 6y ago
  > The conclusion was never drawn from a comparison between a) wearing a facemask in public, and b) not wearing a facemask in public. Well, in fact, that's exactly what the conclusion was drawn from. If you're in public and not wearing a mask during a pandemic then the logical thing to do is to keep a lot of distance between yourself and others. There's a non-trivial amount of people who believe that masks are providing much more protection than they actually are and this misunderstanding could have an impact on people's behavior in public spaces.

by tdfx 6y ago

rumanator 6y ago

> The logic the Netherlands used to counter the "only can help" argument is that wearing cloth masks can lull people into a false sense of security That line of reasoning makes no sense because it leaves out the fact that the conclusion is drawn from the comparison between a) wearing a mask in public and b) stay locked down indoors while avoiding all social interaction. The conclusion was never drawn from a comparison between a) wearing a facemask in public, and b) not wearing a facemask in public. Additionally, during the onset of the covid19 pandemic there were indeed some health officials that argued against mass adoption of facemasks and other personal protection equipment such as latex gloves. However, their rationale was that this would increase demand so radically that it could jeopardize their availability to frontline workers.

tdfx 6y ago
> The conclusion was never drawn from a comparison between a) wearing a facemask in public, and b) not wearing a facemask in public. Well, in fact, that's exactly what the conclusion was drawn from. If you're in public and not wearing a mask during a pandemic then the logical thing to do is to keep a lot of distance between yourself and others. There's a non-trivial amount of people who believe that masks are providing much more protection than they actually are and this misunderstanding could have an impact on people's behavior in public spaces.