As people become accustomed to living with coronavirus, social distancing and mask protocols also become easier.
America’s COVID-19 death toll in the US could reach nearly 300,000 by December 1, but consistent mask-wearing early today could save some 70,000 lives, according to new projections based on current death toll and infection rates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (HME). ) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.
“It seems that people wear masks and more often social distance, as infections increase, then people after a while as infections subside, stop and stop taking these measures to protect themselves and others, which of course leads to more infections,” HME director Christopher Murray said, “and the potentially deadly cycle begins again.”
He said after the recent upheaval there are fewer transmissions of the virus in some southern and western states, but the deaths in California and Florida are still standing and are likely to continue to increase over the next few weeks. The decline in infections appears to be related to a combination of local mandates for wearing masks in public spaces, and the closure of bars and restaurants.
Source: Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.
“The behavior of the public had a direct correlation with the transmission of the virus and, in turn, the number of deaths,” Murray added. “Such efforts to act more prudently and responsibly will be an important aspect of COVID-19 forecasting and the up-and-down patterns in individual states in the coming months and into years to come.”
Face masks help prevent patients from spreading the virus, but they are not as effective as protecting the healthy, say health professionals. On April 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the use of dust masks, saying they were helpful in preventing the wearer from transmitting the virus if he / she was asymptomatic. It reversed that view, calling it “new evidence.”
Some previous studies have concluded that face masks have helped reduce contamination by reducing drops that splash into the air during the flu season; another study based on Japanese says that this works when it comes in pairing with vaccination, which in this case is not an option. It may be that they work in a small amount of cases and / or if they just wear, helps in promoting healthy behavior.
Source: Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine
This study states that N95 medical grade masks help filter out viruses larger than 0.1 micrometers (One micrometer, um, is one millionth of a meter). The coronavirus is 0.125 um. “These products can help block large droplets expelled by the wearer, but have also been shown to be effective at filtering smaller particles and are designed to fit snugly on the face,” it said.
Face masks are necessary for healthcare professionals. N95 masks are tighter fitting than surgical masks and protect according to the CDC. In April, New York Prime Minister Andrew Cuomo ordered all New Yorkers to cover their faces in public if they could not maintain a good social distance, but not all states followed suit.
That same month, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called for all shopping in New York, then the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, to encourage customers to wear masks while shopping. ‘I ask every store to put up a sign that requires you to wear face cover. This is another one of the things we need to do to protect each other, ‘he said at the time.
Do you want to make your own mask? Here is a simple DIY approach.
Source: Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine
“Everyone learns,” said Gregory Poland, who is researching the immunogenetics of vaccine response in adults and children at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “We only have a few months’ experience with this virus. Face masks should be kept for healthcare professionals who are known to be at an obviously high risk.” And the DIY masks for everyone else? “They do not help as a memory aid to your face. to recommend. “
Others are even more skeptical than that. Paul Glasziou, a professor of medicine at Bond University in Australia, and Chris Del Mar, a professor of public health at Bond, analyzed a dozen studies on face masks. They concluded: “Face masks may not do much without eye protection.” Experts say that masks people can also think of the seriousness of this emergency for public health.
They say it is best to avoid public institutions. “People can also wear masks, if a contaminated part of the mask is touched when they remove it and transmit the virus to their hand, then their eyes and thus to the nose,” she wrote in The Conversation. “Masks can also provide a false sense of security, which means wearers can do riskier things like going into crowded spaces and places.”
Coronavirus update:
As of Saturday, COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, had infected at least 19.2 million people worldwide and 4.9 million in the US. It had killed more than 721,549 people worldwide and at least 161,358 in the U.S., according to data collected by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
New York has the most deaths (32,760) followed by New Jersey (15,849). The stock market has been on a wild ride in recent months. The Dow Jones Industrial Index DJIA,
and the S&P 500 SPX,
ended Friday when investors ran two waits for a fiscal stimulus, but the Nasdaq Composite COMP,
7-winning streak ended at the close of the market.
.
