Let's all agree (without polemics): masks can be helpful, so we should encourage everyone to wear them, unless there is a shortage, in which case priority should be given to healthcare workers/elderlies/front-line staff/etc.
I sincerely hope we don't dismiss the success of South Korea simply because of this kind of fatalistic presumption of ineptitude. If South Koreans can do it, Americans ought to be up to the challenge as well, no?
Of course, people clearly will need to be open to listening carefully to their government and to closely adhering to all aspects of transmission-limiting protocols, and be instructed in proper mask fitting. I could certainly imagine seeing a breakdown of that in America, of course, since we'd need people to trust in their government, and for their government to be competent and properly funded. Which are things we frankly aren't good at, apparently for deep-seated cultural reasons.
And yet when I watch the news on TV, I see multiple cases of people wandering around outside with a mask over their mouth but not their nose. Perhaps the news people should be pointing that out, and doing a "here's how to use a mask properly" section.
No doubt. We definitely have got a long way to go toward educating the public if mask-wearing is ever going to be a part of slowing down this pandemic.
Subsequently, that's the first time I've ever typed bandanna, and I just found out I've been spelling it wrong my entire life in writing. I thought it had one 'n' at the end. Weird.
It’s a bit like gun ownership: intuitively it makes you safer, but statistically it makes you less safe because of behavioral and opportunity changes.
It's also interesting that in in Europe/US they focus on a person not getting a disease. In Asia they often wear a masks if the person isn't feeling well. Meaning, the mask is to prevent the person who is wearing it from infecting others. This bit is often glossed over.
The video is available at https://youtu.be/gAk7aX5hksU. I don't know exactly where they discussed the masks. The entire video is great, so suggest to watch the whole thing.
Note: It also talks about spreading by touching your nose and then someone or some surface.
Smart move on their part. Guess this risk was not considered when all the outsourcing was going on.
A mask is a biohazard and should be one-use or sterilised and removed with gloves. If you do that then yes a mask is a help. If not you are playing Russian roulette with a Corona bomb on your face. It is amazing how much energy users on HN use on talking and discussing mask use and still don't understand why a mask used wrongly is worse than no mask. Walking around town collecting germs and bringing them home with you is the mindset you need to be in if masks should be a good idea and safe.
I get that not everyone has been through both SARS and the wanton deployment of tear gas, but it's just common sense for us to dump everything in the wash and have a thorough shower as soon as we get home.
We waste energy on you deniers because we don't want you to become a walking biohazard yourself and infect everyone else.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/487851-china-and-t...
Actual lives are being put at risk by this anti-mask idiocy; dangerous advice shouldn't be allowed to spread unhindered any more than Covid itself.
[1] https://twitter.com/Surgeon_General/status/12337257852839321... [2] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-si...
Whether it does or doesn't make sense to use masks, this is not a logical argument. "Masks can be helpful" is almost certainly true, but it doesn't imply that using them is necessarily worth the cost (in terms of material, production capacity required, convenience, etc.).
"X can be helpful so we should do it", without any regard whatsoever to cost (especially opportunity cost), does seem to be the predominant thought process at the moment.