[lopis]

Riding the subway doesn't make you sick. Not washing your hands and then touching your face with hands that have the virus from touching parts of the train makes you sick. You can't touch your face much if you have a mask on it. The virus doesn't just float around in the air. It only exists in water particles that fall quickly onto surfaces.

[greedo]

If an infected person without a mask coughs in a crowded subway, the virus is aerosolized for a good amount of time. If most are wearing masks, then even if infected, they're not spreading the virus.

[robocat]

This is commonly believed, but how do we know how true it is?

If breathing particles into your throat and lungs is the primary vector (seems likely to me, although I don’t know exactly what is), then what you are saying is wrong.

It seems that masks are being de-emphasised, based on the obvious fake reason of saving the retail stock for the front-line workers (how does avoiding buying retail stock magically get masks into hands of nurses?).

It also seems to me there is an over emphasis on washing hands, and avoiding touching your face (well mouth, nose or eyes). That could be one vector (although unlikely to be the main vector) yet why is everyone so hyper focused on it like it’s the critical vector? It’s the emphasis on washing and touching I find disturbing (even though obviously we should wash hands and avoid touching holes).

[brianwawok]

Washing and touching is what people can do without shooting each other over masks. I am sure it helps like 10%. Doubt it will have a massive impact either way. I’d like to think most people wash their hands reasonable often.

[robocat]

Yep.

What weirds me that it seems likely a bandana over the mouth could change R0 from 2.2 to 2.0, yet we talk about washing hands.

A 10% reduction of transmission is super good when you are dealing with exponential growth.

We need both together, yet we are focusing on only one.

[daxfohl]

Citation? Everything I've read contradicts that: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/transmissi...

[_9ijd]

My point is that it keeps infected from spreading droplets through the air and on those surfaces.

[jiofih]

Most people will actually touch their face a lot when wearing a mask, to adjust it, scratch an itch or temporarily remove it to speak...

[_9ijd]

Yep, originally i believed everyone when they said masks aren’t useful except to keep yourself from touching your face, but after wearing masks I realized it’s also really hard to stop adjusting it.