Another country where there is a mask mandate and it didn't stop the spread. France.
If masks for some reason (more virulent strain?) won't work in France, they should just switch to respirators. They've have plenty of time to stock up. If not, well, they'll just need to learn their lesson the hard way.
People keep saying that masks stopped the spread in South Korea. One can see clearly that the number of cases has nearly tripled since the early spread in March. One could make a "per capita" argument, fine, but the disease has clearly spread, in spite of the fact that South Korea has some of the most efficient/widespread contact tracing and highest mask compliance.
That's a molehill, not a mountain.
In the beginning, I was swayed by the mask argument, because it seemed like common sense, but it is often the case reality conflicts with common sense. I see the virus spreading in most countries around the world with mask mandates, even in Japan and South Korea. In my state, the spread did not ramp up until a month AFTER the mask mandate went into effect.
Molehill.
Probably low compliance.
The CDC did not recommend masks in the beginning because of the lack of RCT studies proving their effectiveness: https://www.bmj.com/...t/369/bmj.m1422
It seems just this year, using short term data, some health officials flipped on the advice of wearing masks.
While RCTs are nice, if you don't have them (because the experts were too dumb to run a few of them), you need to use common sense and whatever other imperfect evidence you have. Plus, you don't need RCTs to know that respirators are almost certainly capable of eliminating any pandemic.
The WHO did sort of recommend cloth masks in case of a pandemic last year, so the flip-flopping was a lot worse than it seems.
One can clearly see that various masks can trap a percentage small particles containing viruses. N95 masks are verified to block up to 95 percent of particles over 3 microns. I think the trouble with masks is reality (the "spherical cow"). All people do not have well-fitting masks. All people do not wear them properly all day long. People constantly touch their masks. They take them off and put them back on several times a day. In addition, the masks are not perfect collectors of viral particles. What happens when a lot of aerosols build up on the mask and someone coughs, sneezes, or talks loudly? Viral aerosols become dislodged and flow in both directions. Over the course of an 8 hour day (think of school kids, factory workers, etc...) the viral particles are still going to spread to some degree, even in the case of N95 masks.
I've addressed most of these theoretical concerns before. And if that's not enough, N100s exist. Still not enough? Increase ventilation. There have been no outbreaks on packed airlines which have only cloth mask requirements but plenty of ventilation.
Unless you start beating the hell out of your respirator, reaerosolization is unlikely to be a concern. Masks block droplets but not most aerosols.
The face touching argument wins the prize for being one of the dumbest arguments ever made. A mask of any kind will prevent you from touching your mouth and nose. And if you're super paranoid, goggles or a face shield will prevent eye touching. But fomite transmission is low and hand washing eliminates it even if it wasn't.
If masks were the key to preventing pandemic spread, one would think humans would have easily and conclusively discovered this before this past Summer. Viral pandemics have existed throughout human history. If general face coverings were effective, it would have been known centuries ago and there would never be pandemics. Masks are better now, of course, but current data around the world reveals obvious limitations....and then there is Sweden, where there is no mask mandate and no hysteria.
If X worked, it would have already been invented! Worst argument ever?
Sweden still sucks.
Edited by Florin, 17 October 2020 - 12:36 AM.
LongeCity
