Masks aren’t just useless, they‘re harmful

[golden-retriever]

Many people now know that masks are useless as protection from the Coronavirus, but according to CNN masks aren’t just useless, they’re actually harmful for the following reasons:

— Almost all people currently wearing masks have masks that fit badly. This means they are continuously adjusting them and therefore... (drumroll) constantly touching their face, which is the worst possible thing to do. Hands touching faces is the #1 most common route to contagion.

— Surgical masks are intended to be single use. Use them once and throw them away. If you continue to use them, they become the equivalent of a flower bed for bacteria which you will be breathing continuously.

us.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/0...

[Matman]

I’m not entirely convinced with these reports.

Corona virus is an airborne virus.

If doctors need masks to prevent them infecting patients, that implies that what comes out of the Doctors nose and mouth has the potential to infect others. On that basis, anyone standing or sitting in front of a Doctor is thereby at risk of infection from the doctor.

If you were sitting in front of a Doctor who was not wearing a mask, but you ‘were’, then presumably what came out of the doctors nose / mouth could not so easily be inhaled by you. Likewise if you’re on a bus or a train, and someone infected - sitting opposite you - sneezed or coughed (same as the common cold).

All the rescue professionals worldwide are wearing masks.

Theres a shortage of masks in the U.K. and in other parts of the world. Might it therefore be propaganda that wearing a mask puts you at greater risk?

I’ve got a mask, and intend to keep wearing it. However, I do sterilise it after each trip out, and also wash my face, gargle and use a nasal spray.

[golden-retriever in reply to Matman]

The rescue professionals are also wearing full hazmat suits and the masks are a part of that and enclosed by the suit.

[golden-retriever in reply to Matman]

Another thing to be aware of is that even if you can stop the air coming around the edges of a surgical mask, they actually aren’t designed to filter viruses. Viruses come straight through the fabric. This has also been stated by the W.H.O. and all the masks I have ever bought through reputable medical suppliers have carried warnings to that effect. They are useless. If it makes you feel better, then wear them, but only if you can resist adjusting them and touching your face.

[golden-retriever]

The current advice from the World Health Organisation and the UK government is:

You should wear a mask if you are infected, to prevent infecting someone else eg. by sneezing and coughing all over them.

You should not wear a mask if you are healthy, since they offer no protection. Air can freely come around the edges of the mask.

[Matman in reply to golden-retriever]

Ok but if you’re infected and can infect someone else by sneezing or coughing - that means the airborne virus infects the other person by being inhaled by them.

If a mask is covering the nose and mouth of the person who is not yet infected, it’s significantly more difficult for them to inhale the airborne infection when someone coughs or sneezes in their direction.

[golden-retriever in reply to Matman]

No. The virus comes around the edge of the mask and straight through the fabric. They are useless as protection to the wearer. Anyhow, suit yourself.

[Matman in reply to golden-retriever]

If the virus goes straight through the fabric, what’s the point of doctors wearing a mask to prevent infecting a patient?