Boston Med, bitches:
Transmission of the coronavirus is thought to occur through respiratory droplets that are released when people speak, sneeze, or talk, according to Dr. MeiLan Han, a professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary and critical care at the University of Michigan.
If these droplets land in the mouth or nose of people nearby, or are inhaled into the lungs, a person can contract the virus.
Masks create a physical barrier that catches these droplets and prevents them from spreading as far into the surrounding air as they normally would.
Han said the masks become even more important because a significant proportion of people who get COVID-19 either don’t exhibit symptoms or there’s a delay before symptoms show up.
Studies show, however, that these people can still transmit the virus to people around them.
The data suggest that the use of face coverings can help limit the spread of the disease by these asymptomatic and presymptomatic individuals, said Han.
Growing evidence supports mask effectiveness:
In the July 14, 2020 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the authors of an editorial pieceTrusted Source said that “the time is now” for universal mask wearing.
In support of their opinion, they pointed to two case studies that were published that same day.
The first studyTrusted Source showed that a universal mask wearing policy in a Boston hospital system reduced the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
Prior to the institution of the mask policy, new cases among healthcare workers who had either direct or indirect patient contact were increasing exponentially.
After the policy was put into place, however, the proportion of symptomatic healthcare workers who tested positive for COVID-19 “steadily declined,” according to the report.
The editorial additionally spoke about a reportTrusted Source in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) which showed that wearing a mask appeared to prevent two Missouri hairstylists from spreading the disease to their customers.
Both stylists had continued to see customers for several days after developing symptoms, but wore face masks as per local government ordinance. Ninety-eight percent of their customers wore masks as well.
Of the 139 customers that the stylists saw before being diagnosed, none developed COVID-19 symptoms during the follow-up period. None of their secondary contacts developed symptoms either.
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