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- 29 January 2006
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I was in your camp early on.
Then I discovered that the typical cheap mask was not about preventing others from infecting me. Instead, it relied on the principal transfer chain being broken. That is, if I touched a surface with the infection then the mask stopped me from infecting myself because I could not then transfer the virus to my mouth or nose. Obviously, wearing glasses is the final line of defence.
Unless people are in regular close contact with others who are likely to be infected, N95 style masks are not necessary.
Mask wearing also seems to be increasingly "culturally" acceptable. I reckon one in 5 at the shops yesterday was wearing a mask, while a couple of weeks ago they were few and far between Maybe the fact that they were hard to get back then was also at issue.
Froggie and I don't agree with much, but on wearing masks, I am a convert and advocate .
With regard to "social distancing" my personal view is that if you have broken the infection chain by wearing a mask and glasses, and you literally keep your hands infection free after touching any surface, its just a useful layer of protection for people unable to do what I do.
I am now also able to obsess with hand sanitising, having discovered that both Woollies and Coles sell sanitiser at their service desks rather than on shelves!