ering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are constructed from electret (a dielectric material that has a quasi-permanent electric charge. An electret generates internal and external electric fields so the filter material has electrostatic attraction for additional collection of all particle sizes. As flow increases, particles will be collected less efficiently.
N95 – A properly fitted N95 will block 95% of tiny air particles down to 0.3 μm from reaching the wearer’s face. https://www.honeywell.com/en-us/newsroom/news/2020/03/n95-masks-explained.
But even these have problems: many have exhalation valve for easier breathing and less moisture inside the mask.
Surgical masks are designed to protect patients from a surgeon’s respiratory droplets, aren’t effective at blocking particles smaller than 100 μm. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VLXWeZBll7YJ:https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/957730O/respirators-and-surgical-masks-contrast-technical-bulletin.pdf+&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Filter efficiency was measured across a wide range of small particle sizes (0.02 to 1 µm) at 33 and 99 L/min.
N95 respirators had efficiencies greater than 95% (as expected).
T-shirts had 10% efficiency,
Scarves 10% to 20%,
Cloth masks 10% to 30%,
Sweatshirts 20% to 40%, and
Towels 40%.
All of the cloth masks and materials had near zero efficiency at 0.3 µm, a particle size that easily penetrates into the lungs.
Another study evaluated 44 masks, respirators, and other materials with similar methods and small aerosols (0.08 and 0.22 µm).
N95 FFR filter efficiency was greater than 95%.
Medical masks – 55% efficiency
General masks – 38% and
Handkerchiefs – 2% (one layer) to 13% (four layers) efficiency.
Conclusion: Wearing masks will not reduce SARS-CoV-2.
N95 masks protect health care workers, but are not recommended for source control transmission.
Surgical masks are better than cloth but not very efficient at preventing emissions from infected patients.
Cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Masks may confuse that message and give people a false sense of security. If masks had been the solution in Asia, shouldn’t they have stopped the pandemic before it spread elsewhere?”
*The first randomized controlled trial of cloth masks. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577
Penetration of cloth masks by particles was 97% and medical masks 44%, 3M Vflex 9105 N95 (0.1%), 3M 9320 N95 (<0.01%).
Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection.
The virus may survive on the surface of the face- masks
Self-contamination through repeated use and improper doffing is possible. A contaminated cloth mask may transfer pathogen from the mask to the bare hands of the wearer.
Cloth masks should not be recommended for health care workers, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated.
*A study of 4 patients in South Korea
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342
Known patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 wore masks and coughed into a Petrie dish. “Both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.”
*Singapore Study – Few people used mask correctly
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/publichealth/86601
Overall, data were collected from 714 men and women. About half the sample were women and all adult ages were represented. Only 90 participants (12.6%, 95% CI 10.3%-15.3%) passed the visual mask fit test. About three-quarters performed strap placement incorrectly, 61% left a “visible gap between the mask and skin,” and about 60% didn’t tighten the nose-clip.
*A 2011 randomized Australian clinical trial of standard medical/surgical masks
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00198.x?fbclid=IwAR3kRYVYDKb0aR-su9_me9_vY6a8KVR4HZ17J2A_80f_fXUABRQdhQlc8Wo
Medical mask
N95 – A properly fitted N95 will block 95% of tiny air particles down to 0.3 μm from reaching the wearer’s face. https://www.honeywell.com/en-us/newsroom/news/2020/03/n95-masks-explained.
But even these have problems: many have exhalation valve for easier breathing and less moisture inside the mask.
Surgical masks are designed to protect patients from a surgeon’s respiratory droplets, aren’t effective at blocking particles smaller than 100 μm. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:VLXWeZBll7YJ:https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/957730O/respirators-and-surgical-masks-contrast-technical-bulletin.pdf+&cd=13&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Filter efficiency was measured across a wide range of small particle sizes (0.02 to 1 µm) at 33 and 99 L/min.
N95 respirators had efficiencies greater than 95% (as expected).
T-shirts had 10% efficiency,
Scarves 10% to 20%,
Cloth masks 10% to 30%,
Sweatshirts 20% to 40%, and
Towels 40%.
All of the cloth masks and materials had near zero efficiency at 0.3 µm, a particle size that easily penetrates into the lungs.
Another study evaluated 44 masks, respirators, and other materials with similar methods and small aerosols (0.08 and 0.22 µm).
N95 FFR filter efficiency was greater than 95%.
Medical masks – 55% efficiency
General masks – 38% and
Handkerchiefs – 2% (one layer) to 13% (four layers) efficiency.
Conclusion: Wearing masks will not reduce SARS-CoV-2.
N95 masks protect health care workers, but are not recommended for source control transmission.
Surgical masks are better than cloth but not very efficient at preventing emissions from infected patients.
Cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Masks may confuse that message and give people a false sense of security. If masks had been the solution in Asia, shouldn’t they have stopped the pandemic before it spread elsewhere?”
*The first randomized controlled trial of cloth masks. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577
Penetration of cloth masks by particles was 97% and medical masks 44%, 3M Vflex 9105 N95 (0.1%), 3M 9320 N95 (<0.01%).
Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection.
The virus may survive on the surface of the face- masks
Self-contamination through repeated use and improper doffing is possible. A contaminated cloth mask may transfer pathogen from the mask to the bare hands of the wearer.
Cloth masks should not be recommended for health care workers, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated.
*A study of 4 patients in South Korea
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342
Known patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 wore masks and coughed into a Petrie dish. “Both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.”
*Singapore Study – Few people used mask correctly
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/publichealth/86601
Overall, data were collected from 714 men and women. About half the sample were women and all adult ages were represented. Only 90 participants (12.6%, 95% CI 10.3%-15.3%) passed the visual mask fit test. About three-quarters performed strap placement incorrectly, 61% left a “visible gap between the mask and skin,” and about 60% didn’t tighten the nose-clip.
*A 2011 randomized Australian clinical trial of standard medical/surgical masks
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00198.x?fbclid=IwAR3kRYVYDKb0aR-su9_me9_vY6a8KVR4HZ17J2A_80f_fXUABRQdhQlc8Wo
Medical mask
s offered no protection at all from influenza.
Conclusions from Organizations
The World Health Organization (WHO):
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331693/WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.3-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
“Advice to decision makers on the use of masks for healthy people in community settings
As described above, the wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks.”
“Medical masks should be reserved for health care workers. The use of medical masks in the community may create a false sense of security, with neglect of other essential measures, such as hand hygiene practices and physical distancing, and may lead to touching the face under the masks and under the eyes, result in unnecessary costs, and take masks away from those in health care who need them most, especially when masks are in short supply.”
“Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.”
WHO acknowledges that most people do not use masks properly.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/t0131-2019-novel-coronavirus.html
“We don’t routinely recommend the use of face masks by the public to prevent respiratory illness,” said on January 31. “And we certainly are not recommending that at this time for this new virus.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/maskguidance.htm
In March 5, 2019 regarding the flu: “Masks are not usually recommended in non-healthcare settings; however, this guidance provides other strategies for limiting the spread of influenza viruses in the community:
cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing,
use tissues to contain respiratory secretions and, after use, to dispose of them in the nearest waste receptacle, and
perform hand hygiene (e.g., handwashing with non-antimicrobial soap and water, and alcohol-based hand rub if soap and water are not available) after having contact with respiratory secretions and contaminated objects/materials.
From the New England Journal of Medicine
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372
“We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”
Final Thoughts
Surgical masks – loose fitting. They are designed to protect the patient from the doctors’ respiratory droplets. The wearer is not protected from others airborne particles
People do not wear masks properly. Most people have the mask under the nose. The wearer does not have glasses on and the eyes are a portal of entry.
The designer masks and scarves offer minimal protection – they give a false sense of security to both the wearer and those around the wearer.
**Not to mention they add a perverse lightheartedness to the situation.
If you are walking alone, no mask – avoid folks – that is common sense.
Remember – children under 2 should not wear masks – accidental suffocation and difficulty breathing in some
If wearing a mask makes people go out and get Vitamin D – go for it. In the 1918 flu pandemic people who went outside did better. Early reports are showing people with COVID-19 with low Vitamin D do worse than those with normal levels. Perhaps that is why shut-ins do so poorly. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058578v4
If you are sick, stay home!
Conclusions from Organizations
The World Health Organization (WHO):
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331693/WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.3-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
“Advice to decision makers on the use of masks for healthy people in community settings
As described above, the wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks.”
“Medical masks should be reserved for health care workers. The use of medical masks in the community may create a false sense of security, with neglect of other essential measures, such as hand hygiene practices and physical distancing, and may lead to touching the face under the masks and under the eyes, result in unnecessary costs, and take masks away from those in health care who need them most, especially when masks are in short supply.”
“Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.”
WHO acknowledges that most people do not use masks properly.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/t0131-2019-novel-coronavirus.html
“We don’t routinely recommend the use of face masks by the public to prevent respiratory illness,” said on January 31. “And we certainly are not recommending that at this time for this new virus.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/maskguidance.htm
In March 5, 2019 regarding the flu: “Masks are not usually recommended in non-healthcare settings; however, this guidance provides other strategies for limiting the spread of influenza viruses in the community:
cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing,
use tissues to contain respiratory secretions and, after use, to dispose of them in the nearest waste receptacle, and
perform hand hygiene (e.g., handwashing with non-antimicrobial soap and water, and alcohol-based hand rub if soap and water are not available) after having contact with respiratory secretions and contaminated objects/materials.
From the New England Journal of Medicine
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372
“We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”
Final Thoughts
Surgical masks – loose fitting. They are designed to protect the patient from the doctors’ respiratory droplets. The wearer is not protected from others airborne particles
People do not wear masks properly. Most people have the mask under the nose. The wearer does not have glasses on and the eyes are a portal of entry.
The designer masks and scarves offer minimal protection – they give a false sense of security to both the wearer and those around the wearer.
**Not to mention they add a perverse lightheartedness to the situation.
If you are walking alone, no mask – avoid folks – that is common sense.
Remember – children under 2 should not wear masks – accidental suffocation and difficulty breathing in some
If wearing a mask makes people go out and get Vitamin D – go for it. In the 1918 flu pandemic people who went outside did better. Early reports are showing people with COVID-19 with low Vitamin D do worse than those with normal levels. Perhaps that is why shut-ins do so poorly. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058578v4
If you are sick, stay home!
GOOD INFO
You cannot be asked why your not wearing a mask.
Copied:
I went to T€sco on my high street earlier to speak with a security guard who was telling people that wearing masks is “law” and people couldn’t come in without wearing masks. I was so annoyed at hearing this that I couldn’t concentrate for a few minutes. Then I got a hold of my self. I went to the store later in the day after our coaching session, the guard was on his break and the staff member I spoke with apologised.
Please don’t be confused, afraid or get hoodwinked.
Here are some things to know if you don’t want to wear a face mask.
1. The government saying it is mandatory, does NOT make it law. It is actually a recommendation, NOT law. You have the right to say NO to recommendations that you don’t like.
2. T_sco, S@insbury’s and the other supermarkets are not enforcing this policy, because it would be illegal. If they did, they would potentially be contravening the Equality Act of 2010. You could look at section 112 and 119.
The term is prima facie liable.
Stay with me here, if someone has a hidden disability you can’t ask them to wear a mask. AND because their disability is hidden, you asking them to wear a mask or asking if they have a disability or asking them to prove their disability is a contravention of the Act. It’s illegal under the Equality Act (the LAW). Therefore, no one (including you, even if you don’t have a hidden disability) should be asked about wearing a mask by an employee/staff of these supermarkets. There’s NO WAY for them to tell if the disability is hidden. They can get sued.
3. Look at the policy of the major supermarkets and you will see this. They are asking their staff to not get involved. If you are asked by the employee/staff, ask them to leave you alone and familiarise themselves with their employers policy.
4. Point 1&2 is why the highest ranking police officer in London, said that staff and other shoppers should “shame” those that aren’t wearing masks into wearing them. It’s unenforceable under law, because it’s ILLEGAL!!!
5. Because it’s illegal is why there is point 3. They all know it’s illegal and they don’t want to get sued.
6. If another member of the public asks you to wear a mask, asked them if they’ve ever spoken to you BEFORE in their life. To which they’d say no, they you ask them to actually think critically and go and DO SOME RESEARCH AND STOP WATCHING bbc news, sky news and co as their ONLY source of information.
Please do your research. This is what I got from doing a little reading on what some legal people have shared about this.
You cannot be asked why your not wearing a mask.
Copied:
I went to T€sco on my high street earlier to speak with a security guard who was telling people that wearing masks is “law” and people couldn’t come in without wearing masks. I was so annoyed at hearing this that I couldn’t concentrate for a few minutes. Then I got a hold of my self. I went to the store later in the day after our coaching session, the guard was on his break and the staff member I spoke with apologised.
Please don’t be confused, afraid or get hoodwinked.
Here are some things to know if you don’t want to wear a face mask.
1. The government saying it is mandatory, does NOT make it law. It is actually a recommendation, NOT law. You have the right to say NO to recommendations that you don’t like.
2. T_sco, S@insbury’s and the other supermarkets are not enforcing this policy, because it would be illegal. If they did, they would potentially be contravening the Equality Act of 2010. You could look at section 112 and 119.
The term is prima facie liable.
Stay with me here, if someone has a hidden disability you can’t ask them to wear a mask. AND because their disability is hidden, you asking them to wear a mask or asking if they have a disability or asking them to prove their disability is a contravention of the Act. It’s illegal under the Equality Act (the LAW). Therefore, no one (including you, even if you don’t have a hidden disability) should be asked about wearing a mask by an employee/staff of these supermarkets. There’s NO WAY for them to tell if the disability is hidden. They can get sued.
3. Look at the policy of the major supermarkets and you will see this. They are asking their staff to not get involved. If you are asked by the employee/staff, ask them to leave you alone and familiarise themselves with their employers policy.
4. Point 1&2 is why the highest ranking police officer in London, said that staff and other shoppers should “shame” those that aren’t wearing masks into wearing them. It’s unenforceable under law, because it’s ILLEGAL!!!
5. Because it’s illegal is why there is point 3. They all know it’s illegal and they don’t want to get sued.
6. If another member of the public asks you to wear a mask, asked them if they’ve ever spoken to you BEFORE in their life. To which they’d say no, they you ask them to actually think critically and go and DO SOME RESEARCH AND STOP WATCHING bbc news, sky news and co as their ONLY source of information.
Please do your research. This is what I got from doing a little reading on what some legal people have shared about this.