Conflicting advice - masks

M

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I find it interesting that when people compare the spread rates from nation to nation, it's always either about the masks (pertinent here), or the level of isolation/lockdown. Both valid factors, of course, but no one ever seems to talk about the pre-existing health of the nations before day zero. For example it's been said that c.50% of Italians have hypertension, which is already thought to be a risk factor. The US seems to be on the same tragetory as Italy, so that would certainly lend at least some credence to the idea that metabolic syndrome is playing a big role.

My point being that perhaps it isn't all just about the masks or lockdowns preventing or slowing the spread of the virus in xyz country. Perhaps the metabolic health of the nations in question also affects the ease by which people are infected and become contagious to others?
 

Fairygodmother

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China’s very worried about people who bring the virus in from other countries, and surely they’re not the only country that has that worry. Maybe those two were trying to prevent picking up the virus on their way back home, and were ready for quarantine when they got there? Only guessing.
 
D

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I bought two boxes of P2 masks when the bushfires were raging around Bundy late last year.

I have been wearing them when I go out, as protection for me and others.

I have to go out today and get money from a ATM, so we have cash dollar at home to pay for the prescription delivery, and butcher who delivers. My normal source of money was shut down last week for the duration.
 

lindisfel

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Hi Jim,
I reckon there are a lot of things we can do nothing about. Is it worth concentrating on such more than a passing observation?
D.
I find it interesting that when people compare the spread rates from nation to nation, it's always either about the masks (pertinent here), or the level of isolation/lockdown. Both valid factors, of course, but no one ever seems to talk about the pre-existing health of the nations before day zero. For example it's been said that c.50% of Italians have hypertension, which is already thought to be a risk factor. The US seems to be on the same tragetory as Italy, so that would certainly lend at least some credence to the idea that metabolic syndrome is playing a big role.

My point being that perhaps it isn't all just about the masks or lockdowns preventing or slowing the spread of the virus in xyz country. Perhaps the metabolic health of the nations in question also affects the ease by which people are infected and become contagious to others?
 
M

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Hi Jim,
I reckon there are a lot of things we can do nothing about. Is it worth concentrating on such more than a passing observation?
D.

Is it worth concentrating on the details of a very complex problem? Well yes, I think so. I wouldn't expect everyone to be interested in the same thing, but the details most certainly should be part of the wider conversation if we want to further our knowledge and improve a situation.
 

hyponilla

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Didn’t the Czech Republic achieve this in days from a grass roots movement as opposed to a government one?

Although it's now required by law, it would be considered anti-social behavior not to wear a mask here. This article captures the mood:
https://news.expats.cz/coronavirus-...onavirus-measures-writes-the-washington-post/
The lock-down here started on the weekend 19 days ago, and when people went to work on public transport that Monday masks or covering your face with a scarf became a thing. It took several days before the government made it mandatory, but by that afternoon you couldn't enter a grocery store or walk down the street unmasked without getting shouted at. Of course, there weren't enough masks so people started making them not only for hospitals but for anyone who needed one to leave the house.

Fabric masks are not perfect but they're a great improvement on nothing. The main reason everyone is wearing them here is to protect other people. You don't need to wash them every time, but you iron them after use to kill any nasty germs. Wearing masks also had an instant effect on social distancing. When everyone around you is wearing a mask you wake up to how serious the situation is and you start to take greater care.
 

JohnEGreen

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I bought some masks and wear them if I go out and so do the wife and daughter.
 

HSSS

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Although it's now required by law, it would be considered anti-social behavior not to wear a mask here. This article captures the mood:
https://news.expats.cz/coronavirus-...onavirus-measures-writes-the-washington-post/
The lock-down here started on the weekend 19 days ago, and when people went to work on public transport that Monday masks or covering your face with a scarf became a thing. It took several days before the government made it mandatory, but by that afternoon you couldn't enter a grocery store or walk down the street unmasked without getting shouted at. Of course, there weren't enough masks so people started making them not only for hospitals but for anyone who needed one to leave the house.

Fabric masks are not perfect but they're a great improvement on nothing. The main reason everyone is wearing them here is to protect other people. You don't need to wash them every time, but you iron them after use to kill any nasty germs. Wearing masks also had an instant effect on social distancing. When everyone around you is wearing a mask you wake up to how serious the situation is and you start to take greater care.
If only us brits had had the same attitude to even homemade masks and viewed them as stopping spread , rather then preventing the wearing from infection. It’s back to the “act as if you have it and don’t want to spread it” as an effective strategy.
 

JohnEGreen

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If only us brits had had the same attitude to even homemade masks and viewed them as stopping spread , rather then preventing the wearing from infection. It’s back to the “act as if you have it and don’t want to spread it” as an effective strategy.
An attitude that has to change.
 

JohnEGreen

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Just watched an expert on tv say that masks are essential protective wear for health care workers working with covid 19 patients but telling the general public there is no evidence that masks give any protection from person to person transmission of the virus. A bit of a contradiction there I think.

I'll still be wearing a mask if going out.
 

lucylocket61

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Just watched an expert on tv say that masks are essential protective wear for health care workers working with covid 19 patients but telling the general public there is no evidence that masks give any protection from person to person transmission of the virus. A bit of a contradiction there I think.

I'll still be wearing a mask if going out.
it depends on the type of mask.
 

Max68

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Yeah it depends on the mask. Plus generally masks in hospital worn buy surgeons and the like are to stop the surgeons from coughing or sneezing on whoever is on the operating table rather than protecting themselves hence why there is an issue with a supply of proper protective gear for the NHS.
 

JohnEGreen

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I was thinking of maybe this.
plague doctor b.jpg
 

JohnEGreen

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Or maybe one like the ones thousands of people round the world are wearing lately.
Maybe like this
nurse mask.jpg

Oh and the ICU or maybe the general wards are not operating rooms so who is being protected from whom.
 

JohnEGreen

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And do not forget this virus can travel a lot further than 2 meters and can travel via ventilation systems and climate-control systems within buildings so as I said I will wear my puny mask as I think it better than no mask.
 

JohnEGreen

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Yup tha'st a modern steampunk plague doctor mask in the days of the black plague doctors thought those masks would protect them from infection as they believed disease was carried by a miasma of bad air and the mask would keep the bad air away we may think them ignorant and of course they knew nothing of viruses and bacteria but they weren't that far wrong.
 

DavidGrahamJones

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an expert on tv say that masks are essential protective wear for health care workers working with covid 19 patients but telling the general public there is no evidence that masks give any protection from person to person transmission of the virus. A bit of a contradiction there I think.
The professor of Infectious Diseases at one of the hospitals in South Korea (I've posted the video somewhere, maybe on this thread) has 30 years of experience of some real nasty pandemics and epidemics. He states quite clearly that masks, although not foolproof, are essential in reducing numbers. I think I'll go with him. As I said somewhere, if I'm wrong, nothing lost or gained, I'm not thinking I'm invincible, if my professor is right, then those who disagree might regret it. Simple Logic? I think!