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Because coronaviruses spread through droplets, there was concern that touch would be a significant vector of transmission. Droplets will land somewhere; then wh

Because coronaviruses spread through droplets, there was concern that touch would be a significant vector of transmission. Droplets will land somewhere; then what? If the virus could persist viably on surfaces, handling a soiled mask properly would be absolutely critical to getting any benefit from it, and handling it improperly would be risky. People wiped down their groceries for the same reason. With the benefit of real data, we now know that touch is a negligible vector. The novel coronavirus does not persist viably for long on any surface. So masks are an excellent trade off.

finite_jest 5y ago
This is obviously off-topic, and has nothing to do with the submitted article's content. [1] But the ship of keeping this on-topic has already sailed, so I might as well add my two cents: Fauci himself said the reason they discouraged people from wearing masks was that "it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply". [2] There is a utilitarian argument for white lies, but public health officials did lie categorically. [1]: I have flagged the woke-scolding comment which started the digression; likely to no avail as it matches the biases of the egregore. [2]: Fauci's interview with The Street: https://archive.ph/T4uZI#selection-809.0-813.507 https://archive.ph/T4uZI#selection-809.0-813.507
- burnished 5y ago
  >> [1]: I have flagged the woke-scolding comment which started the digression; likely to no avail as it matches the biases of the egregore. You should probably look up dang's statements about this sentiment because its pretty funny how frequently this gets dragged out from literally anyone who feels disagreed with and hes got a nice rant about it.
  - finite_jest 5y ago
    :-) Is it this one? -> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26148870 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26148870
    - burnished 5y ago
      Yes! It even has the search link to the other times he has responded to it. Thanks for finding that :)
pdonis 5y ago
> If the virus could persist viably on surfaces, handling a soiled mask properly would be absolutely critical to getting any benefit from it, and handling it improperly would be risky. That's not a reason to tell people that masks don't work. It's a reason to tell people that masks do work, provided you take precautions A, B, and C. And you should also say why those precautions are necessary--because of the assumed risk of touch transmission--so people can apply common sense, since no amount of advice from a central authority can possibly cover all individual cases.

finite_jest 5y ago

This is obviously off-topic, and has nothing to do with the submitted article's content. [1] But the ship of keeping this on-topic has already sailed, so I might as well add my two cents: Fauci himself said the reason they discouraged people from wearing masks was that "it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply". [2] There is a utilitarian argument for white lies, but public health officials did lie categorically. [1]: I have flagged the woke-scolding comment which started the digression; likely to no avail as it matches the biases of the egregore. [2]: Fauci's interview with The Street: https://archive.ph/T4uZI#selection-809.0-813.507 https://archive.ph/T4uZI#selection-809.0-813.507

burnished 5y ago
>> [1]: I have flagged the woke-scolding comment which started the digression; likely to no avail as it matches the biases of the egregore. You should probably look up dang's statements about this sentiment because its pretty funny how frequently this gets dragged out from literally anyone who feels disagreed with and hes got a nice rant about it.
- finite_jest 5y ago
  :-) Is it this one? -> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26148870 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26148870
  - burnished 5y ago
    Yes! It even has the search link to the other times he has responded to it. Thanks for finding that :)

pdonis 5y ago

> If the virus could persist viably on surfaces, handling a soiled mask properly would be absolutely critical to getting any benefit from it, and handling it improperly would be risky. That's not a reason to tell people that masks don't work. It's a reason to tell people that masks do work, provided you take precautions A, B, and C. And you should also say why those precautions are necessary--because of the assumed risk of touch transmission--so people can apply common sense, since no amount of advice from a central authority can possibly cover all individual cases.