A woman wearing a facemask while grocery shopping in Dallas. Washington Post/AP.
The White House is expected to issue new guidelines recommending the use of facemasks. Washington Post. The guidance is expected to be non-mandatory and will be first recommended in areas of widespread breakout. The recommendations are thought to reduce Coronavirus transmissions, as infected people will have less chance of infecting others if they cough or sneeze. The CDC will note that the face coverings will not be the highly sought N95 masks or surgical masks but rather cloth masks or even bandannas. The recommendations also point out that masks are not a substitute for social distancing and handwashing.
My Comment:
This will be short and sweet as I already covered the mask issue in a previous post. In that post I argued that masks were probably a good idea, not only because they keep infected people from spreading it to others but because they protect the wearer as well.
However, that was mostly about medical grade masks, not simple cloth ones that the CDC and White House will likely recommend. These masks will obviously be less effective than the N95 masks and may not even match the regular surgical masks.
I do think that even simple masks will help. Even something as simple as a scarf or bandanna will block some viral particles and that could be the difference between an infection and staying healthy. There are downsides of course, the masks can be uncomfortable and people might touch their faces more, but the risks appear to be outweighed by the benefits.
I do think that the widespread use of masks is a reason why East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea are dealing with the Coronavirus better than Europe and America. Indeed, both countries have seen their new cases plummet and I think it might be because they are using masks.
Of course the real problem is that masks of all sorts are pretty much unavailable as all masks are being diverted to healthcare professionals. This is, of course, the right thing to do, we desperately need healthcare workers to stay healthy so they can treat the rest of us.
But these recommendations are going to be very hard to follow if masks aren't available. Though many people have scarves or bandannas, a lot of people don't and though people can make their own masks not everyone has the skills or materials to do so. Without a major government effort to distribute these masks, the recommendations won't do much.
I do think that some people should be held accountable for not recommending this sooner. The experts misled us for a long time. This may have been well intentioned as it would have made our mask shortage even worse than it already was. But I think they could have recommended simple cloth masks or general face covering without making things worse. If they had done so, and people had actually listened to them, we would be in a much better position...
However, that was mostly about medical grade masks, not simple cloth ones that the CDC and White House will likely recommend. These masks will obviously be less effective than the N95 masks and may not even match the regular surgical masks.
I do think that even simple masks will help. Even something as simple as a scarf or bandanna will block some viral particles and that could be the difference between an infection and staying healthy. There are downsides of course, the masks can be uncomfortable and people might touch their faces more, but the risks appear to be outweighed by the benefits.
I do think that the widespread use of masks is a reason why East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea are dealing with the Coronavirus better than Europe and America. Indeed, both countries have seen their new cases plummet and I think it might be because they are using masks.
Of course the real problem is that masks of all sorts are pretty much unavailable as all masks are being diverted to healthcare professionals. This is, of course, the right thing to do, we desperately need healthcare workers to stay healthy so they can treat the rest of us.
But these recommendations are going to be very hard to follow if masks aren't available. Though many people have scarves or bandannas, a lot of people don't and though people can make their own masks not everyone has the skills or materials to do so. Without a major government effort to distribute these masks, the recommendations won't do much.
I do think that some people should be held accountable for not recommending this sooner. The experts misled us for a long time. This may have been well intentioned as it would have made our mask shortage even worse than it already was. But I think they could have recommended simple cloth masks or general face covering without making things worse. If they had done so, and people had actually listened to them, we would be in a much better position...
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