[BostonCard]

Mask wearing is the absolute key. I wear one even when outside just to remind people to wear them. One thing I have noticed is every time I have encountered someone walking towards me since mid-March, they walk way around me. It’s like a game of chicken and I never lose. This is mostly when walking dog(s) but also walking to store. 

Anyway, more on mask wearing being the best solution. It’s so damn infuriating that if everyone wore masks since March, that we’d have avoided so much more pain and misery.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/...study-says

The issue I have with the article is that the simulation (you can see it here) is that it assumes the efficacy of the masks (you can read it in the paper):

Mask wearing.

A gradual increase inmask wearing was  modelled  using  a  linear  increase  in  the  proportion of individuals randomly allocated with a reduced rate of transmission.  The  factor  by  which β was  reduced  was conservatively set to 2. The period of time over which the mask wearing went from 0 to maximum % was set to 10 days. 50% and 80% maximum values were considered.

(ß is the probability that an infected individual will transmit the virus to a susceptible individual if they have contact).  I mean, if you start with the assumption that masks work, then of course you are going to find out that masks work if everyone wears them.  

My personal view is that masks are a low-cost and simple mechanism that might help reduce transmission.  They probably help on the margins, and every little bit helps, so I wear them in higher-risk situations (enclosed areas or when I have face to face contact with a stranger, such as when I'm picking up take-out).  However, I don't think masks are a panacea, and I don't consider them key to anything.  They should be a complement to, and not a substitute for, other risk minimizing mechanisms.

BC

[BostonCard]

Mask wearing is the absolute key. I wear one even when outside just to remind people to wear them. One thing I have noticed is every time I have encountered someone walking towards me since mid-March, they walk way around me. It’s like a game of chicken and I never lose. This is mostly when walking dog(s) but also walking to store. 

Anyway, more on mask wearing being the best solution. It’s so damn infuriating that if everyone wore masks since March, that we’d have avoided so much more pain and misery.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/...study-says

The issue I have with the article is that the simulation (you can see it here) is that it assumes the efficacy of the masks (you can read it in the paper):

Mask wearing.

A gradual increase inmask wearing was  modelled  using  a  linear  increase  in  the  proportion of individuals randomly allocated with a reduced rate of transmission.  The  factor  by  which β was  reduced  was conservatively set to 2. The period of time over which the mask wearing went from 0 to maximum % was set to 10 days. 50% and 80% maximum values were considered.

(ß is the probability that an infected individual will transmit the virus to a susceptible individual if they have contact).  I mean, if you start with the assumption that masks work, then of course you are going to find out that masks work if everyone wears them.  

My personal view is that masks are a low-cost and simple mechanism that might help reduce transmission.  They probably help on the margins, and every little bit helps, so I wear them in higher-risk situations (enclosed areas or when I have face to face contact with a stranger, such as when I'm picking up take-out).  However, I don't think masks are a panacea, and I don't consider them key to anything.  They should be a complement to, and not a substitute for, other risk minimizing mechanisms.

BC