CDC now says masks protect both the wearers and those around them from Covid-19

[left-of-center2012]

Wearing a mask can help protect you, not just those around you, from coronavirus transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance Tuesday. The statement was an update to previous guidance suggesting the main benefit of mask wearing was to help prevent infected people from spreading the virus to others.

Cloth masks act as "source control" to block virus particles exhaled by the wearer and provide "filtration for personal protection" by blocking incoming infectious droplets from others, the CDC said in its new guidance.

The new guidance cites a number of studies showing that masks reduce the risk of transmitting or catching the virus by more than 70% in various instances. One study revealed mutual mask-use helped prevent two infected hair stylists from transmitting the virus to 67 clients who were later interviewed. Another followed infected people who spent more than 10 hours on flights without infecting other passengers when masks were used.

Some cloth masks are nearly as good as surgical masks at blocking droplets, the CDC said. "Multiple layers of cloth with higher thread counts have demonstrated superior performance compared to single layers of cloth with lower thread counts, in some cases filtering nearly 50% of fine particles less than 1 micron," the CDC said.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/health/masks-cdc-updated-guidance/index.html

[soothsayer]

1. Honestly, I don't know why they didn't say this from the get go

[lagomorph777]

5. +1000 HUGE MISTAKE.

Failure to understand the depth of American selfishness has cost a quarter million lives. So far.

[Azathoth]

10. That will be one of the enduring mistakes that's remembered

Cuomo ordering nursing homes to accept all patients and preventing them from requiring patients be tested before admission will be another.

Trump's catastrophic covid clown show has overshadowed a lot of this stuff in the present, but these decisions are going to be focused on in future analyses.

[Sherman A1]

2. Yes, it is simply common sense

anything is better than nothing and the more of anything is better still.

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Doesn't this go under the category of DUH??

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. Several epidemiologists have been saying that for months.

The CDC?

[SharonClark]

6. This was common sense to all of us wearing masks.

The CDC’s changing pronouncements are helping the anti-maskers talk about “flip flopping “.

[soothsayer]

12. This

[still_one]

7. It was just common sense from the beginning

[Yavin4]

8. Masks and plastic face shields worn at the same time is the best combo.

if you really want protection, mask, plastic shield, and goggles.

[Hugin]

13. Those people in the labs aren't fooling around.

When you see them dressed in all of that gear while having a glove box and working in a positive pressurized room.

[Marcuse]

9. Unless one follows appropriate removal protocols even this won't prevent contamination.

[Hugin]

11. Yeah, it's also in how the gear is used.

I keep stressing that to people around me.

"Y'know, that mask hanging from your rear view mirror isn't doing squat."

Sometimes I get through.

[Hortensis]

14. Ours are 3-layer close weave and have a pocket for a filter.

But we don't fool ourselves that being almost as good as surgical masks for stopping droplets would mean they're almost as good at stopping airborne virus particles not stopped in droplets. There's no claim for that.

If we're chatting for a while with others, wearing masks, of course, we try to keep more than the minimum 6-foot distance to keep from picking up a critical number of particles over time. And of course much prefer doing it outside.

But my husband just turned a healthy, active 80, and the plan is to keep him that way. Then 81, healthy, etc. A 70% reduction in transmissions while the virus rages uncontrolled won't do for us. It's good to hear for our younger loved ones who have to work, etc., though.