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You probably still remember how, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, not only our Minister of Health, Aurelius Veryga, but also the World Health Organization questioned the benefits of masks, now everything has radically changed.
Masks should be used again in public places. What masks do Lithuanians wear? Ordinary medicine, or do you prefer home fabrics or respirators? Which mask is better, because scientists around the world have done a lot of testing with masks lately?
This is what the Lithuanians say:
“We love medical.”
“It just came to our attention then. And most conveniently, it can be changed frequently. It’s probably for a reason.”
“It’s safe,” he said. Well, more or less protects against everything. “
“With cloth masks. More convenient, actually. Because as much as we try disposables, rubber bands often break. This can be washed. Probably cheaper. “
“It just came to our notice then. It’s not hot if you have to be with her all day.”
PHOTO GALLERY. Research has changed dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic: explaining which masks provide the best protection
As many people as different opinions on the masks and how to use them:
“It just causes me allergies, everything starts to itch. Anyway, nothing good.”
However, research on the coronavirus pandemic for almost a year has shown that the use of masks is one of the main obstacles to the spread of the virus, although it was initially questioned.
The purpose of ordinary medical masks, they have two surfaces. And that outer colored surface, in this case blue, is called “hydrophobic surface”. Traps moisture from the environment, repels it. And the inner layer, white, is like a sorbent: it catches the drops that come out of the interior. But if that mask gets wet, its protective property is greatly reduced.
At a time when a professional standard FFP2 or FFP3 mask stops the spread of viruses, engineers at the University of Florida recently tested it. They created a special mannequin for the test. The test clearly showed that a professional mask significantly reduces the cloud of particles compared to a scarf folded several times only on the face.
But even a home-sewn multi-layer fabric face mask strongly deters particle popping too. By the way, the US Centers for Disease Control also requires multi-layer stitched cloth masks.
“And how good are the fabric masks that we can use many times, we can iron it with a hot iron or it is even recommended to heat it in the oven. Because the virus is unstable at high temperatures and can be used in this way, ”says Aurelija Žvirblienė, a professor at the Center for Life Sciences.
Respirators, according to scientists, are in fact the best at using widely available means of filtering particulates, but it is crucial not to choose a respirator with valves. A visualization from NETEC, an organization founded by American university scientists to fight pathogens, shows why: The valve is not designed to filter air, but to exhale easily. So if you are a carrier of a virus, you give a blast of infection to those around you.
“That product with the valve is not suitable, because when you exhale, as you say, the flash goes straight through the valve. A burst of our unfiltered saliva. Even talking out loud is actually a very beautiful visualization of how loud all the viruses we carry are spit out in tiny droplets. And these viruses spread unhindered into the environment, “says KTU professor Dainius Martuzevičius.
But the most important thing, according to the professor, is that everyone should wear masks. So the most efficient and least efficient protective measures work together to great effect.
It seems that after the spring quarantine, Lithuanians did not fully develop their habits. And not everyone worries about looming fines for non-compliance.
“The police will not take specific measures regarding the wearing of masks. But the patrolling police officers will definitely pay attention to whether people actually wear masks and whether they wear masks correctly. And those people will certainly stop and warn them to wear the masks. masks correctly. Malicious offenders can be fined 250 euros for the first time and, in case of repeated violations, 500 euros to 1500 euros, “says Vilnius County Representative of PSC Povilas Revuckas.
Hopefully, people take much better care of each other when indoors, because someone with coronavirus poses a much higher risk to those around them.
The Spanish newspaper El País, using a modeling program developed by American scientists, showed how important it is not only to wear masks, but also to ventilate the premises and avoid prolonged close communication.
For example, friends or colleagues staying in the same room with an infected person without masks for a few hours will almost certainly mean a bed of illness for everyone. Prolonged communication in a small room will not even help the masks. But the situation changes drastically with the ventilation of the premises.
The situation is similar in a half-empty bar, where a COVID user will infect everyone around him without masks while sitting in the place for four hours. The masks would cut the number of infected people in those rooms by half, and even if the rooms were well ventilated, only a friend next to the patient would be infected.
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