Real data about anything connected to the “pandemic” is devilishly difficult to acquire. I am particularly interested because other health problems make wearing a mask a non starter, and I am at higher risk for serious complications if I become infected. There are too many who are interested in skewing the information to support a narrative instead of figuring out the best way to move forward.
As far as I can see there are two reasons to wear a mask. They first is to avoid being infected. This requires a N95 or better mask, and it is appropriate to health care providers, or others likely to come in contact with irresponsible sick people.
if you are sick, stay home! That is really a social responsibility stricture.
While I do not contest that people that have Covid-19 and are not displaying symptoms can transmit the virus, I suspect it is relatively rare. This is why.
When one thinks about how the virus leaves the body to infect someone else, it is obvious the vector is bodily fluids.
Normal breathing is a possible vector, but I suspect the range and saturation make infection unlikely. On the other hand, someone who is coughing and has a fever is likely spreading the virus widely.
Cloth masks at the most charitable, might mitigate the virus spread from the coughing infected, but in truth it is not likely because the infected touch things. The science is not settled, but it appears the virus lives for a while and can be transferred from contaminated surfaces.
My suggestion is that sick people stay home; people at greater risk of complications consider the risk and decide what they should do, healthy people in a low risk category should go to work, go to restaurants, and act normally. We have reached the point where the cure is worse than the disease. Please see the recent Los Angeles antibody study where a random sample suggests that between 2.8% and 5.6% of the population has been infected and has recovered. This greatly changes the denominator and all of the conclusions about the death rate.
