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The VAST majority of mask wearing I have seen in California has been average cloth-covers. I have only seen a handful of people out of thousands actually wearin

The VAST majority of mask wearing I have seen in California has been average cloth-covers. I have only seen a handful of people out of thousands actually wearing N95 masks, so perhaps N95 is highly effective at stopping viruses, but I see basically nobody wearing that. Stores, offices, buildings, all are completely fine with you wearing a bandana over your face. There is effectively no point in even mandating mask laws unless you actually mandate the TYPE of mask that must be used. The coffee filters people are wearing over their face will do close to nothing, if not even make everything worse for their own personal health (lung issues, bacterial infections, etc.)

jonas21 5y ago
I've never seen anyone wearing a coffee filter over their face. What are you talking about?
- Grimm665 5y ago
  I haven't either but I did have to drive several miles out of my way a few months ago to get coffee filters at the only store in the state that seemed to have them in stock. I was told during checkout people were buying them in bulk to use as masks.
  - jonas21 5y ago
    Or buying them in bulk... to make coffee? I'd assume that if people are working from home, they're also making coffee at home instead of getting it at work or on the way to work. And that would be a pretty reasonable explanation for shortages of filters that fit in home coffee makers. I know my personal use of coffee filters went up about 10x during the pandemic. And no, they were not on my face.
    - unishark 5y ago
      I would think a paper filter filters a lot better than cloth at least. The problem is breathing through it of course (as opposed to around). I searched and see some projects on the internet where people are trying to use them. Seems like a worthwhile idea to me.
omginternets 5y ago
>The coffee filters people are wearing over their face will do close to nothing I'm not an expert, but I believe this is not quite accurate. As I understand it, even a piece of cloth helps prevent the spread of the virus to others. The mechanism is that the virus exits your nose/mouth in the form of macroscopic droplets that later break down into microscopic droplets a few inches from your face. A bandanna will catch the big droplets before they split apart.
- auser1443231 5y ago
  It's accurate. A single layer mask made of quilters cotton has been shown to have a filter efficiency of ~9 without gaps[0]. Gaps in all unfitted masks (the type of masks worn by 99% of the citizenry) are thought to reduce efficiency by over 60%, so you're looking at ~9 *.6 = ~5% filter efficiency. That's worthless. A surgical mask is a little better but not much. There's a reason the FDA, which regulates masks, still maintains that surgical masks are not meant to prevent the spread of aerosols[1], which the CDC has confirmed to be a primary mode of transmission. That's also why, if anyone remembers, you'd see "DOES NOT PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19" in big bold letters whenever you tried to buy masks on Amazon. Honestly, anecdotal evidence should be enough. Why do people think that states without strict mask mandates have nearly identical infection rates as those with strict mandates? Mask mandates don't work. They just don't, and people need to stop playing identity politics with that fact. [0]: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252 [1]: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-surgical-masks-and-face-masks https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equi...
jayd16 5y ago
Is there some global increase in lung issues (besides covid) or bacterial infections or something?
refurb 5y ago
The other thing to consider is fit. When I needed a mask for workplace safety, I had to get a fit test done - otherwise you leave massive gaps around the edge of the masks that lets unfiltered air in and out. I think surgical masks do a good job in containing droplets from a cough or sneeze, but if there are airborne particles, I doubt they do much. A good fitting N95 probably helps in that department.

jonas21 5y ago

I've never seen anyone wearing a coffee filter over their face. What are you talking about?

Grimm665 5y ago
I haven't either but I did have to drive several miles out of my way a few months ago to get coffee filters at the only store in the state that seemed to have them in stock. I was told during checkout people were buying them in bulk to use as masks.
- jonas21 5y ago
  Or buying them in bulk... to make coffee? I'd assume that if people are working from home, they're also making coffee at home instead of getting it at work or on the way to work. And that would be a pretty reasonable explanation for shortages of filters that fit in home coffee makers. I know my personal use of coffee filters went up about 10x during the pandemic. And no, they were not on my face.
  - unishark 5y ago
    I would think a paper filter filters a lot better than cloth at least. The problem is breathing through it of course (as opposed to around). I searched and see some projects on the internet where people are trying to use them. Seems like a worthwhile idea to me.

omginternets 5y ago

>The coffee filters people are wearing over their face will do close to nothing I'm not an expert, but I believe this is not quite accurate. As I understand it, even a piece of cloth helps prevent the spread of the virus to others. The mechanism is that the virus exits your nose/mouth in the form of macroscopic droplets that later break down into microscopic droplets a few inches from your face. A bandanna will catch the big droplets before they split apart.

auser1443231 5y ago
It's accurate. A single layer mask made of quilters cotton has been shown to have a filter efficiency of ~9 without gaps[0]. Gaps in all unfitted masks (the type of masks worn by 99% of the citizenry) are thought to reduce efficiency by over 60%, so you're looking at ~9 *.6 = ~5% filter efficiency. That's worthless. A surgical mask is a little better but not much. There's a reason the FDA, which regulates masks, still maintains that surgical masks are not meant to prevent the spread of aerosols[1], which the CDC has confirmed to be a primary mode of transmission. That's also why, if anyone remembers, you'd see "DOES NOT PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19" in big bold letters whenever you tried to buy masks on Amazon. Honestly, anecdotal evidence should be enough. Why do people think that states without strict mask mandates have nearly identical infection rates as those with strict mandates? Mask mandates don't work. They just don't, and people need to stop playing identity politics with that fact. [0]: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252 [1]: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-surgical-masks-and-face-masks https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equi...

jayd16 5y ago

Is there some global increase in lung issues (besides covid) or bacterial infections or something?

refurb 5y ago

The other thing to consider is fit. When I needed a mask for workplace safety, I had to get a fit test done - otherwise you leave massive gaps around the edge of the masks that lets unfiltered air in and out. I think surgical masks do a good job in containing droplets from a cough or sneeze, but if there are airborne particles, I doubt they do much. A good fitting N95 probably helps in that department.