Been to IKEA today and I noticed a couple of fellas with rather large beards and a face mask on. It got me thinking about when I did dust mask training in a previous Job role. I think these were FFP3 grade masks and were told if we had a beard they basically wouldn't work correctly. To the point where anyone who had facial hair of a decent length was given one of these with a respirator instead. Just wondered if anyone has or know people with a beard and if they were aware this likely makes any mask they decide to wear a lot less effective. I'll be honest it didnt cross my mind until today but I haven't seen any mention of this in the face covering campaigns, or maybe it doesn't apply to simple cloth covering as they don't really offer much protection anyway?
The face masks generally used During this Pandemic are more about ‘outgoing’ these are more about ‘ incoming’
They are very much like we wore when working on the Coke ovens at Monckton except for we had Battery slots & big filter on the back.
Is it really that simple? I get the theory behind the "coverings" but given the lack of impact masks seem to have produced in real world settings I wonder if this is the case. Surely if on a higher grade masks it can make such a difference it will impact the performance of a lower garde one.
They definitely work regardless look at the drop in cases since they were made mandatory........ oh wait
There's a boatload of evidence that masks help reduce transmission of covid and other similar viruses. Critically it requires compliance to be high. Meaning, when you're in a country full of folk that refuse to wear them and insist they don't work, they become much less effective. https://www.pnas.org/content/118/4/e2014564118 To be fair it makes sense that they would be less effective if you have a beard but it doesn't mean they're ineffective. Actually, scratch that, I found a study. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-021-00337-1
I think masks are more to stop you giving it to others because there’s an initial barrier to your breath which reduces the viral load in the air, but doesn’t eliminate it. I doubt masks can protect you or others fully unless they leave a prominent mark on your face afterwards because they are fully sealed tight.
Masks are to stop respiratory droplets exiting the body. It's why all the nonsense about stuff like "the virus is small enough to go through the mask" or "A homemade covering isn't going to help" are so stupid. Anything will help, it doesn't have to be a perfect seal or anything like that. It's about stopping stuff like spit from escaping your mouth and nose as it does every time you speak or breathe. Any sort of covering helps with that.
Anyone with any common sense knows that a mask of any kind will reduce both the amount of droplets leaving AND entering your mouth with common sense again saying that it reduces the amount leaving more than entering. My biggest issue with masks for the general public has been that they give a false sense of security to people. Say they reduce droplets by 50%, that's great but people have been wearing them and believing they stop 100%. As soon as masks were worn social distancing in supermarkets etc stopped almost completely. For me the issue isn't do masks work? It's do masks on untrained people who constantly touch their face work better than social distancing and good hygiene? Sadly we weren't able to have both and instead one largely replaced the other.
One theory, is that the covid virus originated in the unkempt beards of lower income hipsters.? Yet to be proven, either way..
I don't disagree at all with that. Plenty of people seem to think masks make them invincible. Which has to have a negative effect on reducing spread. Although it's worth noting that the original mask mandate was meant to be in conjunction with social distancing. Initially 2 metres, then 1 metre plus or whatever it was. A number of the studies into measures to reduce spread emphasised that clear messaging and education of the public were are some of the most valuable measures. Good job we had a competent, well respected and straight talking PM to lead us.
