the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Village of Ridgewood Mayor Ramon M Hache on May 19th encouraged residents to wear a mask ,”While we have not had any new positive cases of COVID-19 in Ridgewood in nearly a week, we are still not out of the woods. As the lifting of restrictions has begun slowly, please continue to take precautions for your safety and the safety of others. Be particularly disciplined about wearing a mask in public. The continued lifting of restrictions, while welcomed, will be bringing us in closer proximity to others so we must continue to exercise extra care to avoid re-igniting the spread of the virus. A new flare up would be devastating. Be well and stay safe.”
Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine last month found that both surgical and cloth masks proved ineffective in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Conducted by clinical researchers at several universities in Seoul, South Korea, the study involved four patients receiving medical care for COVID-19. (Previous studies researching the efficacy of masks examined transmission of other viruses.)
The results were not encouraging, “Neither surgical nor cotton masks effectively filtered SARS–CoV-2 during coughs by infected patients,” researchers concluded. (Note: N95 respirators, which CDC Guidelines advise for medical personnel only, were not part of the test.)
Not particularly surprising , as recently as March, the US Surgeon General was still urging Americans to not buy or wear masks, stating they could actually increase one’s risk of infection. On March 8, NIAID Director and infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci told 60 Minutes much the same.
There is actually an abundance of research that suggests masks are not an effective method of preventing the spread of respiratory viruses, which is no doubt why the World Health Organization and some other countries do not recommend wearing masks.
Let’s please not join the stupid political mask discussion.
The science says a mask may not help you from getting the virus, but it controls the dispersal of air FROM you and helps keep the guy next to you from getting sick if you are already sick and don’t know it.
Always wear a mask indoors, and take it off outdoors if you can maintain social distancing. Period.
When people have stopped dying in NJ for a few weeks, we can talk about taking the masks off indoors.
But the mayor sas “[wear] a mask in public”.
As in, when you are not ensconced in your home.
As in, in the streets, while jogging, while biking, in the parks, in the supermarket, in the bagel store, anywhere in public.
Great study on this question from Stanford here: https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/can-masks-help-reopening-economy
Quick summary for those of you with ADD: masks are a very good thing.
It’s not a political issue. As a cancer survivor, I don’t want to breathe droplets from an asymptotic CV-19 carrier. Got it?
There is no debate among people who know how to think. We try to laugh when we see you others walking or riding your bike in the park with a mask on, but the truth is it’s down right scary.
“The science says a mask may not help you from getting the virus, but it controls the dispersal of air FROM you and helps keep the guy next to you from getting sick if you are already sick and don’t know it.”
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Is that the same “science” that settled Global Warming (yeah I thought so)
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Ask anyone who wears glasses how effective masks are for “controlling the dispersal of air FROM you”
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Masks are a panacea to make the public feel good about doing “something” and keeping them pacified, scared and controlled.
I wish more and more people would wear the mask. It’s amazing how many people need to brush their teeth and use mouthwash,
Not to mention how many ugly people out there they should hide their face.