Quote from: FLS on Today at 12:14:57 PM
And the CDC and WHO basically lied to us about the effectiveness of masks for healthy people to mitigate the epidemic because they knew they needed them for medical staff.
I will admit to having been wrong to underplay the utility of masks for the general public. [/color]
My original argument was that people were putting on their little cotton masks and completely ignoring their un-gloved hands and what they were touching.
However, now it is starting to look like this thing is easily aerosolized, and maybe can stay suspended quite some time and even be distributed by ventilation systems.
What a mess.
The WHO didnt lie. and Trips is partially correct.
The problem with the public wearing masks is a few things.
Yes it creates a shortage for health care workers who legitimately need them as they are many times more at risk then Joe on the street. And we NEED our healthcare workers to not be sick to deal with this.
Plus. 95% of people wearing masks do so incorrectly. Or they start messing with them after a short time. Or they when they take them off they grab the mask by the front and just plop them down anywhere and then re use them over and over. Each and every one of these things serves to render them as nearly as useless as if you hadn't worn anything at all and creates a situation where you potentially have what is called cross contamination.
Whenever I see people wearing masks I let them know of my experience and dont tell them that they shouldnt wear them. I simply tell them that they can wear them if it makes them feel more comfortable. but if they are going to wear them then they need to follow some rules if they want to have any hope of them being even partially effective. You want a complete seal around the face. Pinch the metal tabs around the nose and make sure you have no gaps. and for heavens sake. No matter how uncomfortable you feel Dont fiddle with them until you are taking it off. then you take it off by the bands. Oh. And shave your beards as this creates a pathway for things to get in. the only time i said otherwise is i saw a man who's mask was not only improperly fitted. But you can tell he used for a long time as it was positively filthy. AND he kept messing with it with ungloved hands. To him I told hi he was probably better off wearing nothing at all.
Trips argument about wearing a mask but ignoring their ungloved hands is entirely correct. What good is the mask if your hands and clothing are contaminated.
Standard procedure in hospitals (until this outbreak) was you remove the masks
by the elastic and discard them upon leaving an area which might be contaminated each time, every time. And typically if you are trying to protect yourself from something that is or could be air borne or as Trips put it "aerosolized" (atomized) then you need to protect yourself from head to toe. That means disposable hair net, face sheild or some sort of eye protection, Mask, Gown (in hospitals they often have two types. Disposable or those that are washed), Gloves, and foot covering (booties) Each of which is supposed to be worn in, and then changed out each time , every time you leave a potentially contaminated area. Anything disposable, net,masks, gloves,booties, goes into the red trash bags. And non disposable gowns go into a hamper.. Then you are to follow up with a 20 second wash before you leave the area.
Remember especially if it is easily atomized. You dont want to protect just your airway. But your skin and clothing as well.
Back to the general population and health care workers. I just provided the standard hospital procedures or at least as they were 20 years ago. While not a doctor or actual health care provider myself. I was a foreman in part of what was called the Engineering Dept. As such, in my duties there was not a single area of the hospital I was not required at one point or another to go into and spend significant time in. As such we were then as I am know still because my wife still works there that most hospital workers are from Doctors right down to the janitors drilled as to proper procedure into entering and leaving sterile and/or potentially infectious areas. Then as it is now. it isnt just about protecting yourself. But others as well.
As I mentioned. they are many times more at risk then you or I just by the nature of their jobs. and the general public is VERY highly unlikely to properly protect themselves even with properly using the masks.
These things are needed far more for the health care workers.
I dont know about elsewhere. But I know in my area, some of the health care facilities now as a part of policy have implemented a health care worker first policy. Meaning health care workers get treated first and have first dibs on bed space if needed. In some places even over someone who might be in a more serious condition.
