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+--- Thread: The case for DIY masks to slow coronavirus’ spread (/thread-8430.html)
The case for DIY masks to slow coronavirus’ spread - C C - Apr 13, 2020
https://scienceblog.com/515500/the-case-for-diy-masks-to-slow-coronavirus-spread/
EXCERPT: . . . All of these parties, including physicist Walt de Heer, want people to not buy up masks needed by clinicians. N95 masks are not only not necessary for the general public but are also ineffective for many people [...] U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams has cautioned that wearing masks must not discourage other behaviors to fight contagion like handwashing, avoiding touching your face, and social distancing.
Here is more logic on DIY mask effectiveness followed by links to instructions on how to make them. Breathing mist from a cough or sneeze or getting it in the eyes, nose, or mouth is likely the primary source of contagion for the coronavirus, according to the CDC. [...] A hand-sewn mask out of cloth that has a tighter weave can cut down sharply on the mist, de Heer said, but even a bandana is much better than nothing.
“For math’s sake, say a bandana stops 80 percent of dangerous mist. That protection increases when everyone wears them. So, if two people are wearing bandanas – the sender of the spittle and a potential receiver – the math tells us that two bandanas would catch 96 percent of the dangerous mist. This shows that we all need to be wearing something.”
[...] Georgia Tech researchers have published instructions and guidance for making and using homemade masks. Also, the New York Times has published mask sewing instructions here and the CDC here.
One country, in particular, impressed upon de Heer that the effectiveness of masks – the Czech Republic. ... The Czech Republic has been another distinct outlier. So have many other places where masks are ubiquitous such as Hong Kong, Japan, or South Korea, de Heer noted, even though they are densely populated, making social distancing more challenging. Austria also recently mandated the use of face covers when grocery shopping, following the lead of the Czech Republic. De Heer points to the Czech experience and that of successful Asian countries as very conspicuous evidence that masks help and that it is wise to adopt widespread use in the United States as well... (MORE - details)