Minneapolis, I thought the research cited by a New York columnist would be
of interest to some. Since I have no special expertise on this, I'm not
going to argue about what's below. Please read if you're interested.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/opinion/coronavirus-face-masks.html?campaign_id=45&emc=edit_nk_20200701&instance_id=19934&nl=nicholas-kristof&regi_id=56317991&segment_id=32395&te=1&user_id=5bb0ff47f42f4f2c8f63c52d759b337e
Here's a portion of the article
Sincerely
Joe Nathan, St. Paul
Refusing to Wear a Mask Is Like Driving Drunk
Republicans talk a good game about “personal responsibility.” It’s time for
President Trump’s supporters to actually display some.
[image: Nicholas Kristof] <https://www.nytimes.com/column/nicholas-kristof>
By Nicholas Kristof <https://www.nytimes.com/column/nicholas-kristof>
Opinion Columnist
A
review
<https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)
of
172 studies in The Lancet medical journal found that “face mask use could
result in a large reduction in risk of infection.” An article
<https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818> in Health
Affairs found that state mask mandates, which cover about half the
population, may have averted more than 230,000 coronavirus infections.
For one study this year, reported
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341779100_Surgical_mask_partition_reduces_the_risk_of_non-contact_transmission_in_a_golden_Syrian_hamster_model_for_Coronavirus_Disease_2019_COVID-19>
in
Clinical Infectious Diseases, A review
<https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)
of
172 studies in The Lancet medical journal found that “face mask use could
result in a large reduction in risk of infection.” An article
<https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818> in Health
Affairs found that state mask mandates, which cover about half the
population, may have averted more than 230,000 coronavirus infections.
Researchers placed hamsters with the coronavirus in cages next to those
without the virus, and found that when surgical masks were used as a
barrier between the cages infections plunged by more than half.
Or take a lesson from East Asian countries, where mask-wearing is more
common as a sign of courtesy, that have managed to contain the virus. Dr.
Kwok-Yung Yuen
<http://www.microbiology.hku.hk/02_HKU_Staff_Prof_KY_Yuen.html> an
infectious diseases specialist at the University of Hong Kong, told me that
a crucial reason for Hong Kong’s success against Covid-19 (less than one
death per million
<https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/china-hong-kong-sar/>
inhabitants,
compared with 385 per million
<https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/total-covid-deaths-per-million> in the
United States) is that 97 percent of Hong Kong residents wear masks.
“Masking is a sign of responsible civility,” Yuen told me.
Hong Kong, like some Asian countries, distributes masks free. The United
States should do the same, for the cost is negligible compared with
hospitalization.
A University of Washington computer model suggests
<http://www.healthdata.org/news-release/new-ihme-covid-19-model-projects-nearly-180000-us-deaths>
that
33,000 American lives could be saved from Covid-19 between now and Oct. 1
if more people wore masks. The implication is that inconsiderate Americans
unwilling to wear them could in the next few months kill thousands of their
neighbors.
“We need to do everything we can to increase mask usage,” said Kate
Grabowski
<https://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/3094/mary-kathryn-grabowski>
an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University. But she added: “People
shouldn’t see masks as a silver bullet. They’re not going to be 100 percent
effective at preventing transmission.”
So even with masks, we also need distancing, hand-washing, contact tracing
and bans on large assemblies. I’m also a big believer in more widespread
sewage testing to provide an early warning that the virus is in the
neighborhood.
To be sure, we need more research, and masks vary in effectiveness. N95
respirators work very well — so much so that they make breathing difficult.
Disposable surgical masks are more comfortable though less protective, and
cloth masks are reusable but less effective.
Masks protect your neighbors, but a new Goldman Sachs report finds that
expanding mask mandates could also help the American economy.
“A national face-mask mandate could potentially substitute for renewed
lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5 percent from G.D.P.,”
Goldman Sachs said. “The economic benefit from a face-mask mandate and
increased face-mask usage could be sizable.”
Republicans seem to be coming around. Vice President Mike Pence earlier
eschewed masks but now says
<https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mandatory-mask-rulestrump-insists-personal-choice/story?id=71519019>
that
wearing them “is just a good idea.” Senator Marco Rubio urged, “Just wear a
damn mask.” Representative Liz Cheney tweeted a photo of her father, former
Vice President Dick Cheney, wearing one, with the hashtag
#realmenwearmasks. Good for them!