To all who think that masks provide protection from transmitting COVID-19 to others, a recent article that I read, written by a surgeon (who wears masks daily), pretty much burst that bubble.
There are three kinds of masks being used around the country… really, around the world… these days. The top of the line, apparently, is the N95 mask. Then the hospital type surgical masks, and thirdly, homemade cloth masks with cute pictures or sayings on them.
N95 – is designed to keep contaminants AWAY from the wearer. For example, when painting or sanding in a car paint booth… when installing ceiling insulation… etc. It DOES NOT keep contaminants from exiting the mask into the surrounding air. So, it’s pretty much useless unless you are the person trying to keep from contracting COVID-19 from those around you.
Surgical masks – designed to keep contaminants within the mask, for short periods of time (relatively… since, of course, some surgeries take a few hours to complete). And are used to keep the surrounding air relatively sterile, as in an operating room. The drawback is that as soon as you touch the outside of the mask with your hands (after touching anything outside of a sterile area), it becomes contaminated, and thus, pretty much useless.
Homemade cloth masks – think of how quickly you smell a fart after it is “dealt” by the “donor”. Through at least 2 layers of cloth… The smell is actually small particles of the solids that exit through the same bodily orifice. So… cloth masks are COMPLETELY USELESS.
Personally, unless forced, I choose to not waste my time with useless measures that have precisely zero effect on the limiting of the spread of a disease with a 99.9% survivability rate. I would probably choose to patronize another business, if a business told me I couldn’t enter theirs without a mask.
Here in Texas, there is a false narrative going around that there is a huge spike in COVID-19 cases because of the opening up of the state. 2/3rds or more of that number is attributable to expanded testing, and asymptomatic positives. Consequently, some cities are mandating masks inside of businesses… a completely illegal and unconstitutional mandate. What the numbers tell me is what many have already been saying all along, that a significantly large number of people were exposed to, and recovered from, the virus, even before the lockdown began. And that the positive tests are an indication that we are, actually, getting closer and closer to achieving herd immunity.
So, I will not be wearing a mask anytime soon.