The New Normal

[MarzNC]

What NC public health came up with a while back. Really need to do all three. For me, staying farther away from people I don't know is more important than worrying about exactly what type of mask I'm wearing or whether or not the stranger is wearing a mask of any kind. Doesn't mean I'm just staying home though. Means I pick where I go more deliberately, whether it's for grocery shopping, getting food prepared by a restaurant, or stopping for a restroom when driving away from home.

 

[Warp daddy]

Re that face mask meme , Bravo Marz !!,???

 

[MarzNC]

Issues with huge numbers of test have made headlines since March. However, I never thought about how the test samples were getting to the labs. Turns out that there are small airplanes doing the pickups and deliveries at night for Quest, one of the larger commercial lab companies. The first few minutes are a good summary of why COVID-19 is a problem and not "just like the flu."

 

[Brownski]

For what it’s worth

Scientists tested 14 types of masks — here are the ones that worked and didn’t

Bandannas, gaiters and knitted masks are some of the least effective face coverings for preventing the spread of coronavirus, according to a new study. Researchers at Duke University made the disco…

nypost.com

 

[Harvey]

Not sure I am getting the important info, which masks are better.

 

[MarzNC]

Not sure I am getting the important info, which masks are better.

Assuming what you want is something for everyday use, not a medical grade N95 face mask, it's the material that makes a difference. Multiple layers are better. Non-stretchy cotton is better. That's why a buff that's synthetic and stretchy isn't as effective. Also a buff will be less effective when it's worn in the rain or long enough to get damp while exercising.

The point of a non-medical mask is to reduce the aerosols you are putting out, and droplets if you cough or sneeze. It's not going to give that much protection if you are in a place with lots of SARS-CoV-2 floating around. That's why keeping a safe distance from strangers is as important as wearing a face covering. Put another way, it's good to stay away from places where there are a lot of people not wearing masks. It's virtually impossible to know for sure that no one there is infected enough to be shedding virus. Remember that someone with no symptoms is contagious for 2-4 days, and may not notice mild symptoms after that.

In my experience the past few months, when I'm wearing a mask of any kind then other people tend to stay farther away. So for an outdoor setting, it really doesn't matter that a buff isn't as effective as a 3-layer cotton face mask. For indoor situations, I'm using a face mask made of cotton. I don't sew. Bought a few different styles off Etsy to figure out which design works best for me. One size does NOT fit all.

 

[Harvey]

I get all that.

And I watched the mask thing by Dr Whatshisname the Science Guy.

I have a bunch of #1s I use. I also have some #6s and #10s.

The article would be more valuable if it matched a picture with a rating.

 

[MarzNC]

The article would be more valuable if it matched a picture with a rating.

It's the NY Post. I was more interested in reading the original report by the Duke researchers.

 

[Harvey]

I read the original article, see my links above. Probably not as carefully as you did. I still didn't see a clear correlation.

Our biggest problem is a lack of clear messaging.

 

[MarzNC]

I read the original article, see my links above. Probably not as carefully as you did. I still didn't see a clear correlation.

Our biggest problem is a lack of clear messaging.

Nothing about COVID-19 is clear, meaning from a medical or clinical standpoint. It's still much too new and is very different from other coronavirus. That was part of the problem back in January. No one in Europe could imagine people being contagious for days without any symptoms. After February, it took a while for medical folks to realize COVID-19 isn't a pulmonary disease. Treating it as a vascular disease had made a difference in recent months. Now the problem is that there are so many studies and scientific reports coming out it's hard to follow the changes.

SARS and MERS are far deadlier but people are only contagious when they had symptoms. So isolating people who were sick was enough to get local outbreak under control fairly quickly. Same was true of during the 1918 pandemic. That lasted until 1920 but in relatively few places after Summer 1919.

What is clear is that if most people kept their distance from strangers, wore face coverings when away from home, and washed their hands fairly frequently, then community transmission would be far less.