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It shows that it might help, but it's not conclusive. It's clear that air molecules pass easily throught he mask, even if you can't feel the flow. So the fact that you can't feel the flow doesn't really tell you all that much about whether the air is moving. It means that they're moving in a more diffuse fashion, so they may not spread quite as fast. But once in the air, they can still drift around. That said, viruses are larger than air molecules, and the droplets that carry them are considerably larger than that. They're larger than the pores in N95 masks, in fact. So yes, there's good reason to expect that masks provide protection. On the gripping hand, this study isn't really about any of that. It's about mask mandates, which has to factor in whether people comply, what materials they're using, how much noncompliance matters, etc. So yes, you can take "Wearing a mask helps" for granted, even if you need to think a little deeper than "I can't feel the air". Each individual act on that. But more importantly, "Requiring people to wear a mask helps", which is an important action for legislatures, not just individuals. |