> Also, this whole "only sick people should wear masks" refrain rather exasperatingly ignores that we don't know who's sick and who isn't.
And your argument exasperatingly continues to assume infinite availability of masks.
The masks most help when people are coughing or sneezing significantly. That's really obvious last I checked.
Someone not coughing or sneezing is spreading the virus roughly the same amount whether they wear a mask or not. Covid-19 doesn't actually seem to produce nasal secretions like the flu does so surface contact spread isn't quite the same.
If you want to spread good advice, tell healthy people to start wearing their glasses instead of contact lenses. It's probably more effective than a mask on a healthy person--especially since it prevents people from poking at their eyes with dirty fingers.
"And your argument exasperatingly continues to assume infinite availability of masks."
Except the part where I wrote "supply issues aside". Of course there's a limited supply. That doesn't mean masks wouldn't be effective if we had enough of them. I think we should prioritize making more, not just for healthcare workers, but for everyone.
"Someone not coughing or sneezing is spreading the virus roughly the same amount whether they wear a mask or not."
Scientific consensus so far is that coughing, sneezing, and talking is responsible for the majority of spread. Surface spread is secondary.
"probably more effective than a mask on a healthy person"
And your argument exasperatingly continues to assume infinite availability of masks.
The masks most help when people are coughing or sneezing significantly. That's really obvious last I checked.
Someone not coughing or sneezing is spreading the virus roughly the same amount whether they wear a mask or not. Covid-19 doesn't actually seem to produce nasal secretions like the flu does so surface contact spread isn't quite the same.
If you want to spread good advice, tell healthy people to start wearing their glasses instead of contact lenses. It's probably more effective than a mask on a healthy person--especially since it prevents people from poking at their eyes with dirty fingers.