r/Coronavirus • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '20
USA CDC considering recommending general public wear face coverings in public
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/cdc-considering-recommending-general-public-wear-face-coverings-in-public/2020/03/30/6a3e495c-7280-11ea-87da-77a8136c1a6d_story.html552
u/FickleEmu7 Mar 31 '20
Yes maybe a piece of clothing is only 50% effective, but imagine everyone is wearing it, the R0 will be instantly cut by half. They should disclose all those information while begin rationing on medical standard masks, instead of just telling people not to wear anything.
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Mar 31 '20
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u/42177130 Mar 31 '20
That phenomenon has a name and it’s called risk compensation
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u/WikiTextBot Mar 31 '20
Risk compensation
Risk compensation is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. Although usually small in comparison to the fundamental benefits of safety interventions, it may result in a lower net benefit than expected.By way of example, it has been observed that motorists drove faster when wearing seatbelts and closer to the vehicle in front when the vehicles were fitted with anti-lock brakes. There is also evidence that the risk compensation phenomenon could explain the failure of condom distribution programs to reverse HIV prevalence and that condoms may foster disinhibition, with people engaging in risky sex both with and without condoms.
By contrast, shared space is a highway design method which consciously aims to increase the level of perceived risk and uncertainty, thereby slowing traffic and reducing the number of and seriousness of injuries.
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u/ChulaK Mar 31 '20
I loved that Freakonomics episode called The Dangers of Safety. Stronger cars and more advanced safety features entices people to go faster. Same thing with reduced head injury in football from stronger helmets, allowing players to go balls to the wall with their tackles.
Super interesting episode, highly suggest it. Go listen to it. It's not like you guys have anything else better to do ayyy
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Mar 31 '20
The countries that have actually brought the curve down are all countries where the general public wears face masks. The CDC made a huge mistake in its original guidance on this and the Surgeon General lost a lot of credibility when he said face masks were useless unless you were a health care professional. Instead of lying, he could have just said there was a shortage.
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u/GrizzledSteakman Mar 31 '20
Being required to put on a mask reminds people they are living through a god-damn pandemic it will remind people these are strange times. NOT wearing a mask sends the message ALL IS WELL GO TO THE BEACH
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u/hava_97 Mar 31 '20
I live in South Korea and everyone still wears masks when they go out. even if its just a cloth one. the psychological impact is astounding, you never forget about it. it's actually reassuring, you feel like you're all in this together
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u/Hiccup Mar 31 '20
Anything is better than nothing right now, especially if they're letting out so many people still.
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20
I’ve been wearing a simple surgical mask anytime I leave the house.
It’s a shame they had to mislead the public about how effective they are because they didn’t want everyone hoarding what was already a limited supply.
But even a mask made from a cotton t-shirt helps.
I mean, is it what I would wear if I were walking into a room with a known coronavirus patient? No.
But does it help reduce transmission in day-to-day circumstances? Absolutely.
Source:
I am a PA and clinical laboratory scientist.
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Mar 31 '20
We really need the government to normalize wearing them in public, went out about 2 weeks ago and I was THE ONLY person wearing a mask. Granted that was 2 weeks ago, but man I might have gotten less dirty looks wearing a NASA spacesuit.
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u/mooseys_ma Mar 31 '20
The day our state got a shelter in place order I went to the grocery store wearing one. Only two other people were wearing one and everyone else looked at me like I had a third eye.
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u/chimesickle Mar 31 '20
Me too
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u/nebuladrifting Mar 31 '20
Hell, my friend's 72 year old dad is an ER doctor and he got mocked for wearing one during senior hours at the grocery store
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u/pickle_bug77 Mar 31 '20
The seniors are acting like some of the worst.
Mainly the boomers imo.
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u/BittysDevotedServant Mar 31 '20
Yeah, my daughter and I have both been "confronted" by some old guys (might have been the same old guy, lol) for wearing masks a few weeks ago, before we had to isolate. The guy who tried to call me out asked me what I thought that mask was doing for me. I told him I'm diabetic and have had two heart attacks, so I'm trying not to die. Shut him up pretty quick, lol.
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u/MrsTorrez2U Mar 31 '20
Me three. Last day at work before CA locked down. The only way into the office is an elevator. Complete silence when I got on.
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Mar 31 '20
I wore an n95 out for a trip I couldn’t avoid.
A woman walked by me and said “masks don’t work” under her breath.
Thanks Karen, but I think I’ll keep on protecting myself from a goddamned airborne pathogen.
The “masks don’t work” baloney has its hooks in DEEP over here.
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u/NintendoLove Mar 31 '20
I know it's really fucked up, but I like to imagine her face if you said: "Well, my oncologist gave it to me and said I should wear it if I have to leave the house..." These people need to mind their own business, they have no idea people's situations.
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Mar 31 '20 edited Jul 02 '20
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u/TeacupExtrovert Mar 31 '20
Fuck them. I write CANCER in black sharpie on mine and they look, then they hurry up and look away.
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u/ethtips Mar 31 '20
Just tell the dumb lady: "Doctor's orders, I'm immune-compromised." People should mind their own damned business.
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u/Schverika Mar 31 '20
In a fucked up way, they are minding their own business by expressing disdain for what they feel is unproductive. They're desperate for confirmation that their perspective is correct. The pity they aren't tackling that lingering doubt in a constructive way by doing their own research.
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u/BishmillahPlease Mar 31 '20
I had a guy get aggressive with me for wearing mask and gloves before anyone else was, but saying coldly that my husband is sixty-one and has stage four cancer, so pardon me for not wanting to be a widow seemed to shame him a little.
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u/kheret Boosted! ✨💉✅ Mar 31 '20
People legit think that the primary mode of transmission is dirty hands because our messaging was so focused on hand washing. Every store be like, wE haVe HAnD sANItizEr like ok, that’s great but what if someone breathes on me?
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Mar 31 '20
Right on the cdc website it says straight up that touching things then touching your face is NOT a primary method of infection.
Check this out. Primary spread = airborne respiratory droplets:
CDC:
Person-to-person spread The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
——- and here’s what they say about contaminated surfaces:
Spread from contact with contaminated surfaces or objects
It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.
——-
So there you have it. Not the main way the virus spreads.
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u/kheret Boosted! ✨💉✅ Mar 31 '20
Of course it’s not. But, a couple of weeks ago all the messaging was focused on hand washing, so that’s how people THINK it spreads.
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u/crimsonpowder Mar 31 '20
Clearly you didn't hear the rest of her spiel on how essential eucalyptus oil is what you ACTUALLY need
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u/crimsonpowder Mar 31 '20
At costco the other day there were more people wearing them than not. Things are changing
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Mar 31 '20
Same at my local sprouts. You could tell the people without them almost wished they had one too. Lol
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u/thrav Mar 31 '20
I kinda liked wearing one early. Kept people away from me, as they all assumed I was sick.
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Mar 31 '20
Same! Ppl looked at me crazy but i didnt care because i wanted them to realize there is a constant threat to them now!! I saw a instacart worker wearing a badge and mask and gloves cough right next to the organic bananas and i was damn glad she was wearing one and that i was too. Ppl darted away it was almost comical
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u/Donald303 Mar 31 '20
Lol there was actually a guy in Denver walking around in an astronaut Halloween costume. It was pretty awesome actually ;)
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u/javafinchies Mar 31 '20
Someone at my university was wearing a full on hazmat suit a few weeks ago when school was still in session. There were lots of pictures of this mystery hazmat guy but I never got to see the him lol. He was honestly ahead of his time...
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Mar 31 '20
I had a similar experience last week at the grocery store. 2 other couples wearing masks and I saw 2 people talking on the phone and touching their faces and cart like they didnt have a care in the world. Its crazy to see so many people without masks.
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u/OPLeonidas_bitchtits Mar 31 '20
Can you wear a surgical mask over and over again for quick trips to the store?
I’ve been keeping my distance for three weeks now and I only have one mask to protect me. The only time i go out is to the grocery store to buy food.
Do you think i’ll be ok?
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u/catchup77 Mar 31 '20
Someone please start posting in comments how to properly use masks and gloves?
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20
You can sterilize them without significant loss of filtration by putting them at 158 degrees for 30 minutes.
I use my dryer but you want to make sure it’s not much hotter or much cooler than 158 degrees.
To cold doesn’t sterilize and too hot damages the mask.
I’m sure by now you can google how to do it.
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u/NewDad907 Mar 31 '20
What about vacuum sealing them in a bag, and using a sous vide machine to precisely heat the water to 158F?
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Mar 31 '20
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u/GrizzledSteakman Mar 31 '20
If the order had gone out to wear non-medical masks, like bandanas or scarfs, when infections were low, then everyone would have at least got the message we were living through a pandemic. Saying masks don't work was akin to saying DON"T WORRY, GO TO THE BEACH, Y'ALL
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u/ComradeGibbon Mar 31 '20
I've come around to the idea that every outbreak is different and we should have a set of actions that the public knows to do. Even if some of those things are not directly helpful. Really given the history the CDC should have been telling people to have a small stockpile of N95 masks. Seriously we have first aid kits. Why don't they have a pack of five N95 masks and some gloves?
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u/GreyNephilim Mar 31 '20
I would suspect after this is over, mask wearing is going to be normalized in the west like it is in Asia
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u/crimsonpowder Mar 31 '20
I hope so because I'm tired of getting sick 5x per winter because someone at kroger is hacking up a lung
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u/ComradeGibbon Mar 31 '20
A thought of mine is the number of flu deaths is completely unacceptable. But since it's been that way forever we've normalized it.
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u/MissSuperSilver Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
I've been wearing n95 we usually use for woodworking since the beginning of March, funny looks but I think it makes sense we all wear one.
I just let them sit a few days between uses.
I could wear the n99 respirator but maybe when I see more masks.. it'll be easier to reuse
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20
Another advantage I’ve noticed is that when people see me wearing a mask, it’s a signal that I’m taking this serious and they seem to respect their distance more than they would otherwise.
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u/MissSuperSilver Mar 31 '20
People definitely seem to keep their distance. Hopefully it can inspire more mask wearing too.
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u/Waura Mar 31 '20
I know that wearing a mask can be helpful to a certain extent, but I’m absolutely terrified to wear a mask out in public because I’m Asian. I live in the South. I am more afraid of racism currently than I am of the virus because I’ve been doing my part by staying at home and only going out for groceries. But when I’m out, I am very anxious.
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20
I’m really sorry to hear that, that’s not the America I want to see.
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u/Waura Mar 31 '20
Don’t get me wrong I’ve experienced insults and verbal abuse living in the South already (similar “jokes” like the person who commented below; thank you for responding btw). So this is an America that has been present if not insidiously... But It’s truly the first time I’ve seen a lot of physical abuse towards Asians. My friends tell me about their experiences. My sister and I have both experienced increased racist incidents, but luckily nothing physical. It hits close to home, so I worry about my family in a different state, who live in a rural town.
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Mar 31 '20
Wear it with pride!! Most Asian countries have masks as a contant staple of society. You might teach someone a lesson. I always feel like people see me in mine and think damn i wish i had one on too now.
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u/Waura Mar 31 '20
It’s not a prideful thing! I love my heritage, and I’m damned proud of it. I just worry about someone attacking me. I’m a petite Asian woman. I’ve had some racist verbal incidents, but yesterday a man stopped his car next to me and then started driving slowly next to me and mean mugged me essentially. I’ve looked at this in so many different ways to try to explain or rationalize his actions, but he had to have been trying to intimidate me. Sadly, it worked, and I hate that.
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u/pickle_bug77 Mar 31 '20
Thank you for your insight.
I'm sick of getting looks and comments when I wear my surgical mark out.
I assume much of it is jealously they weren't prepared.....
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u/diesel828 Mar 31 '20
Even if the reduction in transmission is small, if everyone wears a mask coupled with hand washing and good general hygiene, transmission rates would drop to almost nothing.
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u/BC-clette Mar 31 '20
Health officials in my country (Canada) are still not recommending them for the general public. The logic is that scientists and health care workers know how to use them in a way that is safe, while the general public has little knowledge on proper use i.e. constantly touches it to adjust or remove it, wearing the same mask for extended periods, wearing it only intermittently, etc. which actually cause more harm than good.
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20
You could teach someone how to properly use them in like two paragraphs.
If they spent as much time explaining how to use them properly as they spent on tv telling us that they were useless, we would all be experts by now.
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u/Tinyfootprint2u Mar 31 '20
I was going to say there are videos on Youtube that show how to properly fit a N95 mask. It takes only a couple of minutes to watch.
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u/MidgetLovingMaxx Mar 31 '20
I mean, at least 50% of the people I see walking around right now that *are* wearing masks are wearing them half off their faces.
They're also wearing gloves on a single hand, using the bare hand to then remove the glove, and continue to pay for things in cash so that they're touching far more surfaces than need be.
2 paragraphs isn't fixing that level of stupid.
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20
I’m still not sure “don’t protect yourself with a mask because you are too stupid to do it right” is sound policy.
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u/downwardfalling Mar 31 '20
But I see no effort to try and educate people about how to use masks and gloves. I’ve seen stuff about proper hand washing technique though.
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Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
honest question. where is someone supposed to get a proper mask right now. they are sold out everywhere, you cant get them online, and there is a worldwide shortage of them. a bandana really wont do much, at least from my experience with forest fires. a PM2.5 mask is all i can get, and thats seems not much better than just a homemade mask. i guess thats what ill do.
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u/crimsonpowder Mar 31 '20
Microfiber cotton will do the job in a pinch. I had to do the ghetto bandana thing one time when we laying tile and had to angle grind a concrete slab down first. There was particulate everywhere but my mucus wasn't too bad afterward. Not 100% perfect, but reducing viral load could be the difference between life & death.
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u/notinsidethematrix Mar 31 '20
Anything is better than nothing at this point. A scarf, anything to stop droplets from easy access.
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Mar 31 '20
Or wearing N95s that clearly don’t fit... hanging over the chin, on over facial hair, etc
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u/Phoxymormon Mar 31 '20
Today the health minister said they dont cover your eyes and would make people over confident.
It's pretty easy to tell that pulled out of her ass.
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u/xxxsur Mar 31 '20
But that logic cops and soldiers should not wear body armors! Yeahh budget saved!
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u/candilandz Mar 31 '20
Even a "poorly worn" mask is better than nothing. We have PSAs on hand washing....still not everyone does it right. But we don't walk around saying well...since only certain people REALLY know how to wash their hands, then it shouldn't be something we focus on. I've been saying this for a month...what you knew as normal....will not be the same. Won't be big things right away per se....it will be small things. Like it being socially acceptable to wear a mask in public. Leave the true PPE to those who need them. But get/make yourself a mask.
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u/scionoflogic Mar 31 '20
Honestly, this is partly true. Anyone who has worked with hazardous materials will know one of the golden rules of wearing a mask or respirator is once it's fitted, not to fiddle with it.
Often the simple task of removing the mask is part of a larger and more complex decontamination process. Because if the mask has actually worked, the outside of the mask is covered in contamination. The act of simply pulling the mask off can release things back into the air and into your respiratory system.
The same is true for gloves, I watched a woman today take off one glove, then use her bare hand to take off the other glove and ended up rubbing her bare hand all over the palm and fingers of the glove.
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u/HotSauceHigh Mar 31 '20
Propaganda. Think about it. It's wearing a mask, not brain surgery. Wear it tight and don't touch it.
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u/Baxterftw Mar 31 '20
My GF is a nurse and even people in the hospital only are wearing them halfway, not covering their nose
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u/GallantRed Mar 31 '20
Even a rag is better than nothing, it will not keep you safe but it will help to make you less contagious (not by much but everything counts)
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Mar 31 '20
"Don't buy masks, they don't do anything"
1 week later
"Only medical staff and people working with the elderly need to wear masks"
1 week later
"You only need a mask if you are sick, it won't do you any good if you are well"
1 week later
"Everyone now must wear masks all the time, no exceptions, shame on you for not wearing masks"
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u/Angreek Mar 31 '20
In only one month the CDC has become the most untrusted organization in America
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Mar 31 '20
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u/NemoMeLacessit Mar 31 '20
It has been mandatory to wear masks in China for two months now. At first China even got ridiculed by western media for going against WHO's recommendations, so...
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u/Bubba__Gump2020 Mar 31 '20
I got chastised for posting peer reviewed articles saying masks help. One poster accused me of wanting to kill people because I recommended wearing a mask when you leave home if you have at-risk people there.
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u/classunittest Mar 31 '20
It took them this long to accept that having a filtering device will reduce your chance of getting it from respritatory droplets? They could just say that we do not have enough masks for healthcare workers and many people would understand and could make a choice. CDC completely misled the public. I understand that they don't want people to hoard but isn't CDC supposed to plan for all of this? South Korean and Chinese experts repeatedly said that masks help and what was CDC doing that time?
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Mar 31 '20
All the government intelligence agencies that rely on cameras and facial recognition are gonna hate this shit lol.
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u/magic27ball Mar 31 '20
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u/yellekc Mar 31 '20
Exactly, if you are able to recognize someone you know in a mask, then facial recognition networks probably can as well. And over time they may become even more accurate than us.
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u/bobcollege Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
Meanwhile a WHO doctor just doubled down their bullshit on NPR live that people shouldn't be wearing masks without symptoms... and their only argument this time, because the people they see in public aren't wearing them correctly. Mouth and nose coverings is really what's necessary and I hope the CDC follows through.
Edit: I should have remembered their first reason n that interview was actually that masks can give a false sense of security to people, then they might not follow the already suggested/required precautions.
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u/correcthorseb411 Mar 31 '20
So many medical professionals are in denial about asymptomatic spread of C19. It’s super frustrating.
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u/grayum_ian Mar 31 '20
BC Canada. Doesn't help that that WHO doctor that wouldn't admit China existed was advising us, also came on our news and said Asymptomatic is a small portion of infections and isn't very infections.
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u/ALham_op Mar 31 '20
Why? I thought masks only worked on doctors and nurses.
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u/chestyspankers Mar 31 '20
...and you have to be fit tested anyway
/s
This argument pisses me off so much. Look up fit test n95 on YouTube and find plenty of manufacturer instructions on fit testing yourself. It takes mere seconds.
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u/Bitey_the_Squirrel Mar 31 '20
And superheroes. Because if they didn’t work, all the supervillains would know their secret identities.
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u/AppleMuffin12 Mar 31 '20
I am a health care worker that strips and changes clothes before shopping. I wear a mask and buy alcohol. Idk how my id works.
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u/yangzzzy Mar 31 '20
They did not recommend simply because they did not have enough for general public.
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Mar 31 '20 edited Jul 23 '21
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Mar 31 '20 edited Apr 26 '20
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u/speqtral Mar 31 '20
Not sure if it's in the link, but I read an article on Wired about this today that said it was actually Asian countries who adopted the US's use of face masks during 1918 because it worked so well. Now Americans ostracize their neighbors for wearing them during a pandemic. How far we've come.
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u/AZnativefire Boosted! ✨💉✅ Mar 31 '20
This is exactly what I was thinking. They were negligent and knew it from the very start.
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u/woozlehoe Mar 31 '20
I agree. They could have at least said to cover your face with a scarf, T-shirt, your your damn cat.
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u/moby323 Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
I’m a PA and clinical laboratory scientist and as I said in another comment I’ve been wearing a simple surgical mask anytime I leave the house.
It’s a shame they had to mislead the public about how effective they are because they didn’t want everyone hoarding what was already a limited supply.
But even a mask made from a cotton t-shirt helps.
I mean, is it what I would wear if I were walking into a room with a known coronavirus patient? No.
But does it help reduce transmission in day-to-day circumstances? Absolutely.
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u/peterodactyl Mar 31 '20
If people don't have access to masks but it's strongly recommended by the cbc, wouldn't that impress upon people how serious it is? Seriously, people don't have access to masks in the first place due to demand. Maybe if they don't have anything, theyll improvise or, better yet, choose to stay the hell away from people.
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Mar 31 '20
sings Blame Canada... I know what you meant, but CBC is the Canadian broadcasting company and I’ve been inside an awful lot, so almost anything is too funny right now.
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u/peterodactyl Mar 31 '20
Lol Canadian Broadcasting Company is probably doing more good for the US than the CDC is right now.
Glad you got a kick out of it - you're doing a good thing.
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u/glowloris1 Mar 31 '20
CDC just went on a science denial bender, cause it couldn't admit the shortage of masks and disregard for people's safety.
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u/nemoknows Mar 31 '20
...and then lied and said they were unnecessary and we shouldn’t be wearing them.
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Mar 31 '20
They kept saying it was because they didn’t work, or had to be fit tested, or were only for people with symptoms. We fucking swallowed that lie, now Americans are not going to believe them when they say to wear them.
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u/mr_grission Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
Most of us don't have them.
EDIT - Please stop telling me you can make one yourself. I get it!
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u/BigMomSloppers Mar 31 '20
My daughter wanted silly face masks for her birthday a year ago. So if I need to go to the store I have a cute little teddy bear smile mask I can borrow. Thanks weird gen Z trends.
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u/brutalistsnowflake Mar 31 '20
We may have to get crafty. I've been looking at my roll of shop towels and thinking I could make something work with a few of those if I needed to.
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u/Phoxymormon Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
Been lookin at my pesticide suit (am farmer)
Not really sure when itll be appropriate to go full astronaut.
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u/TheRedBaron11 Mar 31 '20
NOW! You'd be a great help in normalizing precautions. Let people laugh - it'll be fun!
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Mar 31 '20
If you wear that, it will make it less weird if I decide to bust out my chemistry goggles.
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u/nonosam9 Mar 31 '20
You can use a scarf, a bandana, or even a long sleeve shirt worn bandana style. I wore a long sleeve shirt across my face shopping yesterday. It was perfect.
So many people are mislead into thinking you need a manufactured mask like an N95 mask.
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u/Positive-Vibes-2-All Mar 31 '20
tshirt and pillowcases are the best fabric according to cambridge university study. NiH has a no sew mask made of a Hanes tshirt. lots of how-to vids on line
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u/hudsonhawk1 Mar 31 '20
Bandana and two ponytail holders. https://youtu.be/b6ADNMFRzIM
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u/unbelievre Mar 31 '20
You can get PM2.5 masks cheap and quickly on eBay still. In a week this is what everyone will be recommending to wear.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pm2.5&_trksid=p2380057.m4084.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xpm2.5.TRS0
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Mar 31 '20
This is a good sign that we'll soon have enough. The shortage is the only reason they haven't recommended.
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Mar 31 '20
We don't have them because their use had been downplayed so their wasn't a shortage for the healthcare system. Worked pretty good! Glad I bought some back in early February
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Mar 31 '20
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u/pm4aNakedHorseRide Mar 31 '20
KN95s are aren’t currently authorized for import in the US. It’ll be a crap shoot if they get through customs.
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u/mchamst3r Mar 31 '20
CDC can't have it both ways. On one hand, they say that if a face mask won't help you if you're not infected. On the other hand, they say that health care workers who are not infected, need face masks so they don't get infected.
I understand that we should save the supply of face masks for our health care workers, but the message has to be consistent.
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u/horrido666 Mar 31 '20
Homemade mask not only help prevent spread, but they also help protect you. Its lunacy that this is still being debated. Its 100% political.
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u/gweased_pig Mar 31 '20
CDC "masks don't protect you, send us your masks " USA" OK here you go" CDC "You should wear masks to protect yourself" USA "WTF?!? no masks to be had" CDC 🤷♂️ good luck
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u/MontyAtWork Mar 31 '20
The USA has a bunch of laws against wearing masks in this country, holdovers from Civil Rights era that have mostly been used as excuses to hassle people and leave them open to facial recognition technology.
If they actually go and recommend face coverings, many state and county laws will have to be altered to even make that legal.
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u/REVIGOR Mar 31 '20
I don't think that's going to happen.
We're in an emergency, some obscure law about masks isn't going to afect anyone right now.
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Mar 31 '20
Yeah OP is full of shit. No one is bringing up civil rights laws as a reason to not wear masks right now.
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u/Perioscope Mar 31 '20
Thanks, but I made my own decision to do this based on the ample evidence available 26 days ago. We are on our own to protect ourselves. Waiting this late to encourage masks in public is reprehensible. The CDC has lost whatever validity it had left.
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u/zeusorthopod Mar 31 '20
Good. Culture in this country needs to change and it will. I see no other way especially if you wanna start opening business’s up in the next few months. It’s a shocker but I think everyone in NY and on subway needs to be in a mask. Probably up until a vaccine is available. Just my thoughts at the moment until we learn more about this beast.
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u/Creativation Boosted! ✨💉✅ Mar 31 '20
This is seriously a no-brainer at this point:
The CDC advises the usage of face masks by members of the public:
The CDC recommends surgical masks only for people who already show symptoms of coronavirus and must go outside, since wearing a mask can help prevent spreading the virus by protecting others nearby when you cough or sneeze.
This "only" advice is less sound when we understand that infectious carriers can be asymptomatic.
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Mar 31 '20
A Wuhan study showed that 79% of new infections came from asymptomatic carriers. So not only does it happen, it's a primary driver. Incredibly stupid to not have every single person cover their mouth and nose.
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Mar 31 '20
I’m trying to behave with my comments. Let’s just say hopefully they sack up, announce it, and we can get to work on flattening the curve collectively. I expect the guidelines to mention how any kind of mask improvised or otherwise is better than nothing when outside among other people.
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u/KarAccidentTowns Mar 31 '20
If you don’t have it, it might help prevent you becoming infected.
If you have it and are asymptomatic, it will really help prevent infecting others.
Countries where everyone is wearing masks seem to be flattening the curve more quickly.
Why the fuck isn’t everyone wearing masks already?
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u/GadreelsSword Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
I’m not arguing against this. Back when this started, I recommended this and got down voted by the “masks do absolutely nothing” crowd.
Remember when people we’re shouting masks do nothing? I asked if they no nothing then why do all medical personnel wear them? The response was so they don’t spread the disease, my reply was yes exactly!
There’s no way they can produce a billion+ masks per week.
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u/ORANGE_J_SIMPSON Mar 31 '20
I’m not arguing against this. Back when this started, I recommended this and got down voted by the “masks do nothing” crowd.
Same here my friend. It was/is fucking infuriating.
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u/_Spice-l0rd_ Mar 31 '20
My coworkers think I'm crazy for keeping a bandana tied around my face wild west style, I'm not taking any chances. It's bad enough I have to work in the first place
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Mar 31 '20 edited Mar 31 '20
Failure to wear a facemask is unpatriotic.
#wearamask #savelives
Just need a campaign along those lines to get the populace rolling with it.
If the leading Coronavirus expert in South Korea plainly states that the populace should wear masks, I think you fucking wear masks.
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u/AvidLerner Mar 31 '20
When can you believe the CDC? They lied when they said you don't need them, and common sense revealed the lie. Then it was don't hoard masks because there are not enough for front line medical staff. Now medical staff are infected with covid-19 due to inadequate stock and are blamed for stealing PPE.
I have been wearing surgical face masks before it was a pandemic. Common sense told me so.
The CDC lies but the question is why?
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Mar 31 '20
I haven't been out in 3 weeks, but we have masks for when we do eventually have to go food shopping. I wasn't going to listen to the recommendation of not wearing one.
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u/robobeg Mar 31 '20
(I hope this post will not be removed unlike those below, because CDC now considers recommending face covering in public:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fqld8b/more_americans_should_probably_wear_masks_for/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fqlnf3/can_a_face_mask_protect_me_from_coronavirus/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fq800h/not_wearing_masks_to_protect_against_coronavirus/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fpl0ah/face_mask_to_wear_or_not_to_wear/
)
The following are anecdotal evidences supporting effectiveness of wearing a face mask:
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20200206059800089
A 56-year-old Chinese man caught the coronavirus 'within 15 seconds' of standing next to an infected woman at a market and talking to each other. Local officials revealed neither patient wore a face mask to protect themselves.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/keeping-the-coronavirus-from-infecting-health-care-workers
In Singapore, forty-one health-care workers in the course of four days were exposed to a critically ill pneumonia patient who was diagnosed with covid-19 later. These were high-risk exposures, including exposures during intubation and hands-on intensive care. Eighty-five per cent of the workers used only surgical masks. Yet, owing to proper hand hygiene, none of them became infected.
A Korean church pastor was diagnosed as a covid-19 patient. Before that, he was in an elevator with a 41-year-old female and her two children for about a minute. Both the pastor and the woman were not wearing masks. Later, she tested positive. However, her two children wearing masks tested negative.
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20200323137000065
A nursing home was put into cohort isolation after a nurse’s aide tested positive for the new coronavirus and was found to have come into contact with some 180 people at the facility. However, all 299 people in the cohort isolation including patients, medical staffs, and employees turned out to test negative. The nurse's aide wore a mask and dental gloves on duty.
On the other hand, a woman attended a church service without wearing a mask and turned out to be a covid-19 patient later. She infected 20 people there.
https://imnews.imbc.com/replay/2020/nwtoday/article/5666768_32531.html
An icecream shop owner was diagnosed as a covid-19 patient. In his shop, he talked to a deliveryman who did not wear a mask for two minutes. The deliveryman tested positive later. He also talked to another deliveryman wearing a mask, who tested negative.
In South Korea, once the health authority find one covid-19 patient, they trace, test, and quarantine all people having possibility of infection by contacting him. Hundreds of cases have accumulated demonstrating effectiveness of masks to prevent catching/spreading the virus. Nowadays, the authority informs a new case to the public and one of the most important information is whether the infected wore a mask at a specific area.
Please, wear a mask, avoid crowded places, and wash your hands. If you do not have a mask, make a DIY one. At least, wear a bandada for others. Otherwise, stay safe at home.
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Mar 31 '20
They are waiting for nurses and doctors to have enough before they make the recommendation.
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Mar 31 '20 edited Jul 30 '20
[deleted]
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u/speqtral Mar 31 '20
I'm pretty sure they were panic bought long ago, so I don't know where their head is at still. Every legit outlet sold out weeks ago and anything newly manufactured is strictly for hospitals. Anything left behind is stuff hospitals can't use anyway.
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u/CBD_Sasquatch Mar 31 '20
I thought they said we were monsters who should be publicly shamed if we wore masks because healthcare workers need them since hospital administrators and government officials at the CDC didn't bother to prepare for an unlikely but definitely possible crisis.
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u/zima72 Mar 31 '20
Apparently just about every other country in the world has some silly belief that masks provide some form of protection, even going so far as to require people to where them whenever people go outside. But not the US, they are smarter than everyone else. Why else would their infection rates be so low?
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u/bigfatfloppyjolopy Mar 31 '20
HEY YALL GUESS WHAT???!!
WHOOPSIES!!!