[M T]

I'm referring to the cloth masks with valves that I see a lot of people wearing. Not the n95 respirators with valves that are used in construction, though I do have a beef with people wearing those around as well.

At least in Northern California, the N95 masks with valves were widely purchased to deal with the smoke of forest fires.  Back in late February/early March, when surgical masks disappeared, so did these.  I remember seeing a segment by a hardware store employee showing the empty shelves and complaining about how it will take months to restock them and bemoaning what were people going to do when fire season came around.  (That's just to demonstrate the relative threat some people felt of the virus then.)

In San Mateo County, such a mask does not qualify as a face covering to meet the health department orders.

Note that any mask that incorporates a one-way valve (typically a raised plastic cylinder about the size of a quarter on the front or side of the mask) that is designed to facilitate easy exhaling is not a Face Covering under this Order and is not to be used to comply with this Order’s requirements.

I'm sorta sad to see the blind faith in face masks and 6 feet now just as strong as it was in washing hands and coughing into elbows in March.  Hey, we're wearing masks & we're tired of being isolated, so let's open up.  [ I hope that faith bears out, but it has been demonstrated that surgical & cotton masks don't stop the virus at least at short range when a sick person coughs..  EDIT: 25 Nov 2020: I saw that this article has been withdrawn.]

And, many here presume that the face mask on a sick person protects those around them and discount the protection of the mask for the wearer from infection from persons unknown.  I think the irritation some may feel for others without masks is based on this belief.  I suggest we recognize that YOUR wearing a mask protects YOU.  As one study found, "Always wearing a mask when going out was associated with a 70% reduction in risk compared with never wearing a mask. Wearing a mask intermittently was associated with a smaller yet significant reduction in risk".  (Yes, we'd rather it be 100% reduction.)  Perhaps naively, I think that would translate to dropping R0 by 2/3's.

[M T]

I'm referring to the cloth masks with valves that I see a lot of people wearing. Not the n95 respirators with valves that are used in construction, though I do have a beef with people wearing those around as well.

At least in Northern California, the N95 masks with valves were widely purchased to deal with the smoke of forest fires.  Back in late February/early March, when surgical masks disappeared, so did these.  I remember seeing a segment by a hardware store employee showing the empty shelves and complaining about how it will take months to restock them and bemoaning what were people going to do when fire season came around.  (That's just to demonstrate the relative threat some people felt of the virus then.)

In San Mateo County, such a mask does not qualify as a face covering to meet the health department orders.

Note that any mask that incorporates a one-way valve (typically a raised plastic cylinder about the size of a quarter on the front or side of the mask) that is designed to facilitate easy exhaling is not a Face Covering under this Order and is not to be used to comply with this Order’s requirements.

I'm sorta sad to see the blind faith in face masks and 6 feet now just as strong as it was in washing hands and coughing into elbows in March.  Hey, we're wearing masks & we're tired of being isolated, so let's open up.  [ I hope that faith bears out, but it has been demonstrated that surgical & cotton masks don't stop the virus at least at short range when a sick person coughs..  EDIT: 25 Nov 2020: I saw that this article has been withdrawn.]

And, many here presume that the face mask on a sick person protects those around them and discount the protection of the mask for the wearer from infection from persons unknown.  I think the irritation some may feel for others without masks is based on this belief.  I suggest we recognize that YOUR wearing a mask protects YOU.  As one study found, "Always wearing a mask when going out was associated with a 70% reduction in risk compared with never wearing a mask. Wearing a mask intermittently was associated with a smaller yet significant reduction in risk".  (Yes, we'd rather it be 100% reduction.)  Perhaps naively, I think that would translate to dropping R0 by 2/3's.