Quote:
Originally Posted by onedollars
Good post. The scope of this test is extremely limited and the headline is sensationalized as you mentioned; cherry-picking "both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2" while leaving out the "from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface" part is very misleading. In addition to the other testing scenarios you mentioned, it's important to note the following part from the actual paper:
"this experiment did not include N95 masks and does not reflect the actual transmission of infection from patients with COVID-19 wearing different types of masks. We do not know whether masks shorten the travel distance of droplets during coughing. Further study is needed to recommend whether face masks decrease transmission of virus from asymptomatic individuals or those with suspected COVID-19 who are not coughing."
akashenk, unsurprisingly, completely butchered the interpretation of the research that was done
Curious if you have a science/medical/statistical background, Wilbury?
In an earlier post I said I thought cloth masks were effective in preventing symptomatic (ie coughing) people from spreading the virus. I went on to suggest I did not believe they were effective in preventing asymtomatic spread.
Then I found and posted an article with the study which deals with virus transmission through cloth masks.
Now, you are free to believe what you will about the study. But I’m not sure where you think I butchered the interpretation of it. I feel like its results would lead me to question my own assumptions about the efficacy of cloth masks to prevent symptomatic spread.
If you have access to some other research which contradicts the study I found, and supports my original suggestion that cloth masks are effective in preventing symptomatic spread, that might be useful and put me more at ease.
Or if you have access to research which either debunks the notion of high-level asymptomatic spread of covid-19, or provides an explanation for it which can be mitigated by the nominal social distancing measures being put forth in re-opening, then I’m all ears. That would be some vital information.