Coronavirus thread

[0ddl0t]

I believe that. I was scheduled for surgery on 15-APR to deal with arthritis in my right big toe (I am amazed at how much pain a toe can generate); postponed indefinitely. And it makes sense to me why it happened, but I wonder how my doctor's practice is doing. No one planned for this kind of interruption to cash flow and running a medical practice is cash-intensive in the sense that there are big accounts payable and the slow-paying accounts receivable.

A former neighbor with deteriorating Parkinson's was scheduled to get an implant to reduce tremors, but apparently a procedure giving someone the ability to once again pull up his own pants is considered elective. There are zero cases in that county...

[Redhat]

Not specifically aimed at you. We operate on the basis of assumptions. I stated a belief based on mine which is that a filtration barrier will block some of the aerosol from mouth and lungs containing the virus. Further, masks will reduce hands touching faces. Every chance I get I poke fun at principals.

What I've not heard, is if the masks people are running out buying / making are even effective against Covid 19. For that matter, how effective is the N95 and for how long?

And while I'm at it, how is it the scientific/medical community can't say whether in fact the virus can be floating in the air and if it is, a mask doesn't protect your eyes. Further, this many months into studying it, how do they not know whether the summer weather is going to knock it down? Seems like by now we'd know more.

[Cory]

What I've not heard, is if the masks people are running out buying / making are even effective against Covid 19. For that matter, how effective is the N95 and for how long?

And while I'm at it, how is it the scientific/medical community can't say whether in fact the virus can be floating in the air and if it is, a mask doesn't protect your eyes. Further, this many months into studying it, how do they not know whether the summer weather is going to knock it down? Seems like by now we'd know more.

As far as summer weather helping to prevent spread, I have my doubts.

Here are the temps for Tampa FL in March. This would be considered summer weather in NY any day of the week. These temps didn't seem to help slow the spread much.



-Cory

[bravo7]

Hope the 3M masks work better than the 3M combat ear plugs.

[shootist26]

What I've not heard, is if the masks people are running out buying / making are even effective against Covid 19.

The entire point of wearing a mask is to protect OTHERS. We already know that asymptomatic/presymptomatic people are highly contagious. The mask reduces the amount and distance that their own respiratory droplets travel while they are out in public not realizing they are actually infected.

[RoyGBiv]

What I've not heard, is if the masks people are running out buying / making are even effective against Covid 19. For that matter, how effective is the N95 and for how long?

And while I'm at it, how is it the scientific/medical community can't say whether in fact the virus can be floating in the air and if it is, a mask doesn't protect your eyes. Further, this many months into studying it, how do they not know whether the summer weather is going to knock it down? Seems like by now we'd know more.

1. Wearing even a bandanna as a mask will help reduce the shedding from an infected person who does not know they are infected. Instead of coughing into the wind, at least some of the droplets will get caught in the mask.

2. Wearing a bandanna mask does not offer much protection from other people who are infected.

3. N95's can offer 2-way protection.
-- There are N95's with valves. These do not stop an infected person wearing an N95 from spreading their germs to others, since the one-way valve allows unfiltered breath to exit the mask.
-- Non-valved N95's do protect in both directions, IF WORN AND FITTED PROPERLY.

4. What I've read seems pretty consistent that the infection can get at you through the eyes. What remains unclear is the likelihood and parameters for this mode of transmission. Does breathing normally expel enough virus to sicken someone 6 feet away that passes briefly through the wake of an infected person? What about passing through the wake of a cough or sneeze?

[ratter75]

As far as summer weather helping to prevent spread, I have my doubts.

Here are the temps for Tampa FL in March. This would be considered summer weather in NY any day of the week. These temps didn't seem to help slow the spread much.



-Cory

Unless the spread would have been much worse had the temps been cold?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

When they say a mask type is ineffective, it seems to say it is dichotomous. The suspect mask is worthless. Is that true?

If Mask X cuts down risk 95% - that's good but if a suspect material mask that is not fitted properly only cuts down, let's make up a number, 30% - is not that useful as compared to nothing? Taking in a big breath of virus as compared to maybe some sneaking around an edge - does the reduced amount reduce risk?

[Maple Syrup Actual]

When they say a mask type is ineffective, it seems to say it is dichotomous. The suspect mask is worthless. Is that true?

If Mask X cuts down risk 95% - that's good but if a suspect material mask that is not fitted properly only cuts down, let's make up a number, 30% - is not that useful as compared to nothing? Taking in a big breath of virus as compared to maybe some sneaking around an edge - does the reduced amount reduce risk?

I would have to say it must. Think of it this way: if you have a shirt over your face, and you cough unexpectedly...is that not automatically better than coughing unexpectedly without a t-shirt? There is at least some physical barrier which minimizes droplet spray.

The completely inept use of poor quality masks...is still going to be some improvement over nothing. In fact, I suspect that in the long run, the early dismissal (if not outright discouragement) of widespread mask use is going to be seen as one of the great contributing factors to the Wuhan Flu Apocalypse.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

IMHO, the no mask initial proclamations were more political for all concerned in government at the top to do PR to make themselves look good and we got this BS.

However, infecting dictators might be plan. Hey, N. Korea, Venezuela, Iran, etc. come to the USA's White House No Mask BBQ party.