Originally Posted by XutvJet
I work in the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) business. I'm 40hr worker and 8hr supervisor OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) and 1st Aid/CPR trained. I do refreshers every year for this. I manage projects where I have to evaluate the usage of the appropriate PPE for my staff, subcontractors, and consider exposure risk to the general public. We are trained to understand how to use PPE and it's effectiveness.
Based on my training, I lean more towards the WHO recommendations regarding masks in this situation. I think they should be reserved for medical personnel and those in similar jobs/situations. Medical masks, and especially these cloth masks, are a bad idea for the general public in most all cases regarding COVID-19. For one, there have been plenty of studies done prior to COVID-19 showing that medical masks in medical settings are minimally effective in reducing respiratory disease transmission and some say that they are completely ineffective. You need a need full seal on the mask if you want true protection from highly transmissible respiratory diseases like COVID-19. N95 masks offer a 95% protection factor at best and are usually well below that because they don't seal well against many faces or those with facial hair. A half face or full face respirator (those with filtering cartridges) is the only option for 100% protection and that's only assuming you've been fitted for the respirator, you're using the correct cartridge, AND you have no facial hair.
A disposable medical mask's intent is to keep large droplets from transferring between parties and is a bodily fluid drip/spill/spurt blocker during surgery and the like. It is ineffective at controlling aerosol materials as there are so many outlets on the mask and the aerosol is easily transferred in and out.
Multi-use cloth masks are no more effective and are likely worse because they are used multiple times, washed, and reused by non-trained people. The exposure risk while cleaning goes up significantly.
Then there's the question of usage and training. This is my biggest argument. Medical personnel know how to wear and handle masks. They are trained. The general public does not and that is the biggest risk, IMO. I've watched masked shoppers and workers in public. They are constantly fiddling with the masks. They are pulling them on and off to talk, sometimes their nose is exposed, they barely fit, they have air holes/valves, etc. Because they lack the training, they are touching their facial areas WAY MORE than they would have otherwise. Don't get me started about people wearing disposable gloves public. The masks also create an issue where people can't hear each other speak, so they get within a couple feet of each other and then pull the masks down to talk. LOL.
Many people in populated areas of Asia wear masks as customary when they think they are sick and don't want their cough or sneeze droplets to escape. That's great practice and should be done everywhere regardless of COVID-19. Better yet, stay home when you're sick when you're sick. If you must go out when sick, wear a mask. Simple as that.
Our governments are flying blind here and throwing everything at the wall to see if it sticks, science or not. I have seen no evidence showing that medical and/or cloth masks can effectively stop the spread of COVID-19. It's all speculation at this point. I hear so many times, well, it's better than nothing. I would agree if we were only talking about medical professionals wearing masks. The general population though? Nope. IMO, the exposure risk is being increased. See above.
I feel that these mask recommendations from the CDC, health depts, and "experts" are primarily driven by potential litigation and financial risk management and not founded in real science. It's a great fall back to say "Oh you got COVID. Did you wear a mask? No? Oh, well you should have listened to us. You can't sue us because you didn't follow our recommendations. Move along."
When the WHO changes their mask recommendation or there is scientific data that proves masks are effective, I'm all in. For now, I'll wear a mask where it's required, but otherwise, I'm not doing it. You can give me the stink all you want.
|