They lied about masks. They lied and lied and lied.

[denem]

Even if there are cases next door, the answer is no, you do NOT need to get or wear any face masks—surgical masks, “N95 masks,” respirator masks, or anything else—to protect yourself against the coronavirus. Not only do you not need them, you shouldn’t wear them, according to infection prevention specialist Eli Perencevich, MD, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine.

“The average healthy person does not need to have a mask, and they shouldn’t be wearing masks,” Dr. Perencevich said. “There’s no evidence that wearing masks on healthy people will protect them. They wear them incorrectly, and they can increase the risk of infection because they’re touching their face more often.”

But even if you know what you’re doing and you tie your hands behind your back, you still don’t need to wear a mask.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2020/02/29/no-you-do-not-need-face-masks-for-coronavirus-they-might-increase-your-infection-risk/#7ed48fe6676c

What they did not say is the primary purpose of public masks is not to protect you, but others from infection. A surgical mask is not there to protect the surgeon, it is to protect the patient from infection. Public transport, stores, enclosed spaces, wear a mask.

And China is having a field day.

[htuttle]

1. "The average healthy person...."

This is in fact the problem.

Nobody knows who's healthy, since the virus can be asymptomatic and still be contagious. So without testing, it would be fair to assume EVERYONE has it, including yourself.

[bamagal62]

2. Why anyone believed the mask lie is

Beyond me. Although I already had a few N95s in my art studio, I quickly bought a box in January. Once it started to get bad, I mailed the extras to elderly family members, etc. I’m not sure why people are believing the bullshit of “runners don’t need to wear masks”. If this virus hangs in the air for 3 hours and you walk past a runners slipstream, you’re going to have an opportunity to breathe it in.
Wear a mask. Wear the best mask available to you.
Use your common sense. Don’t believe their lies.

[LisaL]

12. I didn't believe it either.

But when people are told that masks were going to hurt you, and only sick people should wear them, and stop buying masks, would you feel comfortable wearing a mask in public? I didn't feel comfortable wearing one, because no one else was (well, almost no one). If people were told to wear masks from the start, it would have been different.
Instead we were told to wash hands, as if it really is going to help that much against an airborne virus.

[Kaleva]

3. A number of studies show that wearing a mask is effective.

"Surgical masks as good as respirators for flu and respiratory virus protection
by UT Southwestern Medical Center"

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-09-surgical-masks-good-respirators-flu.html

"“Yes, a surgical mask can help prevent the flu,” Sherif Mossad, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, tells Health. “Flu is carried in air droplets, so a mask would mechanically prevent the flu virus from reaching other people.” It would work both ways, says Dr. Mossad, preventing transmission of the flu virus to others and for keeping a mask-wearer from picking up an infection.

Surgical masks to prevent the flu can be found in major drugstores and online, and yours doesn't need to be fancy to help. “A simple disposable mask is fine, just be sure the packaging notes that it protects against airborne particles,” Susan Besser, MD, a family medicine doctor with Mercy Personal Physicians at Overlea in Baltimore, Maryland tells Health. And splurge for a value-sized pack. “Disposable is best and you should discard your mask after each use,” says Dr. Besser. “If a mask gets wet—and it will by simply breathing into it—the effectiveness of its protective effect is reduced.”"

https://www.health.com/condition/cold-flu-sinus/surgical-mask-flu-prevention

"One study shows that when there's a sick family member in the house, other family members could cut their risk of getting sick by 60% to 80% by using face masks consistently and correctly -- in combination with frequent hand washing and avoiding close contact with the sick person."

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/swine-flu-h1n1-and-face-masks#1

"Donning a face mask — either a surgical mask or a P2/N95 respirator mask (high particulate filter mask) — boosts protection from severe respiratory illnesses such as influenza and SARS, say researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). These masks are not necessarily the same as the dust masks that some people use when cleaning or doing construction work.

In the study, adult mask wearers in the home were four times more likely than non-wearers to be protected against respiratory viruses, including the common cold."

https://www.livescience.com/7661-masks-protect-colds-flu.html

"Not so for the World Health Organization or the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

They collectively recommended regular surgical masks except in high risk circumstances, such as during open suctioning of airway secretions and other procedures that could "aerosolize" the H1N1 virus."

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/infectioncontrol/16278"

"According to a study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, families with kids who had flu-like symptoms and used the masks properly were 80% less likely to be diagnosed with the same thing.

Another study looked at 400 people who had the flu found that family members who wore a surgical mask and washed their hands reduced their chance of getting the flu by 70%.

“Individual brands of masks and that sort of thing hasn't been studied, but the few studies that have looked at them do have an effect – in some studies, up to 50 to 80% reduction in transmission,” UW virology expert Alex Greninger said. “They seem to stop large droplets, and I think the other key thing to mention with masks is that it really depends on what you're willing to wear.”

Coronavirus is most commonly spread through the air by coughing or sneezing or though close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

While masks do seem promising, it's also important to utilize other preventive measures. Make sure you wash your hands often during flu season, especially if you're around others who may be sick. Also, be sure to get your annual flu shot to protect yourself and others from spreading the virus."

https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/surgical-mask-effectiveness/281-9c762e52-c2ec-4dec-b5f3-77ee833fca1e

"At the start of flu season in the last two years, participants were randomly assigned to six weeks of wearing a standard medical procedure mask alone, mask use and hand sanitizer use, or a control group with no intervention. Researchers followed students for incidence of influenza like illness symptoms, defined as cough with at least one other characteristic symptom such as fever, chills or body aches, Monto said.

From the third week on, both the mask only and mask/hand sanitizer interventions showed a significant or nearly significant reduction in the rate of influenza-like illness symptoms in comparison to the control group. The observed reduction in rate of flu-like symptoms remained even after adjusting for gender, race/ethnicity, hand washing practices, sleep quality, and flu vaccination."

https://news.umich.edu/masks-hand-washing-prevent-spread-of-flu-like-symptoms-by-up-to-50-percent/

[denem]

4. Many thanks.

Much appreciated

[Kaleva]

6. I don't claim to be an expert but I'd rather err on the side of caution.

So i wear a mask when I'm out and about which is once a week or so.

[spanone]

5. They are STILL LYING about THE TESTS.

[denem]

7. and the dead :(

[Mike 03]

8. I recommend everybody with SiriusXM listen to "Doctor Radio" live

from the Langone Medical Center at NYU. While earnest, well-meaning people were repeating idiocies about masks, the doctors at NYU always told the truth about masks, even the part the media doesn't say out loud about N95s -- that when used correctly they protect the wearer from this virus most of the time, even if it's aerosolized. You have to wash your hands before and after putting it on and removing it, and you fit it correctly and don't touch your face.

[LiberalArkie]

9. So technically when a person is being operated on, none of the surgical people should wear masks

[denem]

10. Did you read the OP?

[LiberalArkie]

13. Oh I agree, but the lug heads out there think that medical people were them to protect themselves,

so they aren't as brave as the lug heads are who won't wear the masks.

My thinking isn't that good as I have another 1.5 weeks to go before all the meds are out of my system from surgery during a pandemic. Who says I don't take risks

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. Droplets, droplets, droplets.

Masks help block droplets from others and ourselves, and the virus survives in them.

The Atacama Desert in South America is so dry that it’s more sterile than any hospital operating room! No water, no life.

It’s why scientists curious about extraterrestrial life are mostly interested in other planets/moons with water. It’s based on what’s known here.

[cwydro]

14. I don't get why they say they don't protect the wearer.

When my mom was going through chemo, she was given masks to wear to protect her because she was immunocompromised from the chemo.

So it makes no sense at all when they say it doesn’t protect the wearer. What a bunch of liars they’ve been, from the beginning.

[denem]

15. Yes. The higher the filtration, the more it protects the wearer,

but even basic cloth will slow the velocity of droplets shed by someone infected, and prevent them touch their mouths.