09-16-2020, 02:49 PM
(09-15-2020, 11:46 PM)Charon Wrote: A doctor I watch today had an HIV specialist on. That is a virus. And she says masks do prevent you from spreading covid but also protects you from a serious infection if someone is positive near you. The mask will offer you some protection and one can get covid, but a much milder form of it. Just cover your nose with your mask. that is why we are having lower death rates with higher number of cases. the masks do work to some degree.
I have heard similar reports from scientists. It seems to do with the amount of viral particles you inhale - fewer particles means a milder illness (at least for most people). While a re-usable or surgical mask mainly protects others from you, the person wearing it also gets some protection. It is a strong argument for wearing a mask!
I have been preparing for a second wave... isopropyl alcohol, hand gel, and I managed to get some FFP2 masks that give me a decent level of protection (FFP2 is an EU standard, but roughly the same as N95). In the UK people are supposed to wear masks on public transport and inside shops/stores. From what I've seen about half of people don't wear masks inside stores. Of those who do wear a mask loads aren't wearing the mask properly e.g. pulled down under their nose, or the truly bizarre "chin mask"!
We are not allowed to meet in groups of more than six - that is a new law. In England's second largest city, Birmingham, it is currently illegal to visit anyone socially if you don't live with them (the exceptions are for meeting co-workers and in educational settings). So these are really draconian laws from a government desperate to reduce the cases, while still having people go to work, and for education to continue.
Right now children have just gone back to school. UK universities are about to open and that means millions of students moving around the country, then living in halls of residence That's typically shared accommodation - individual bedrooms, often with their own bathrooms (but occasionally shared), and a shared kitchen and social space. I suspect the virus will spread very fast in those conditions. University staff and school teachers are busy working out how to teach everything online if it comes to it.
We live in strange times.
Stay safe.