He buys the very common type in big quantities and gives them to me.
When he first gave one to me, I suggested the test was could I blow out a Flame in front of the mask.
So he came up with a lighter and guess what? I could blow out the flame with the mask on!
His responds? "Don't Blow so hard".
the common "mask" is NOT going to stop it!
Rumor has it, "common sense" is becoming less common...
while i'm loathe to join this... Dan i agree with you on 3 points... And 1 more but not in your meaning.
1. Comon masks that dont seal well or do not have the correct density of fabric and/or filtering material are of nominal effect... Better than nothing... But not by much.
2. If you can blow on a candle and put it out from more that 15cm away... Not much use.
3. Dont blow so hard... Well you could return that comment back to them if the mask is not functional....
4. A dense fabric mask will significantly reduce transmission as it traps aerosols.. Its also a PITA to wear and certainly to do phycial activity in.
5. While the following point is somewhat the reverse of the argument, as its about self protection rather than protection of others....
Why run an airfilter on your car? Dust os small.. Takes ages to build up driving on sealed roads you dont see dust in the air when you drive and your engine will breathe better... Its because you've seen the results of fine particles in an engine...
I do not have the greatest faith in governments to do the right thing for people infront of their own interests... And i certainly am sceptical about their abilities to collaborate with each other in different countries..
So somehow globally they have managed to all agree to make this an issue... And places like UK amd portugal etc that in the last few weeks have maxed all their ICU units out with respiratory patients? All showing the same symptoms... and all these places that for the first time havent got capacity are just making it up?
You can debate total numbers... Debate what % of cases they attribute to Covid etc...
The thing id like your explanation on is how globally ICUs get full with people suffering the same thing....
I hope you don't get sick and suffer that trauma.. I hope you don't get asymptomatic and then pass it to people who will suffer that fate.
You can complian about it etc.. Nobody enjoys this crap... It screwed up so much stuff... But would you race your tiger without belts, helmet, roll bar, extinguisher, overalls, goggles and screen? Would you wear a helmet made out of a drink container plastic?
If the answer is yes... Because you are happy to take the chance then i can understand your point, because you would take that chance with your own safety.
But it likely means you wouldnt do something simple to protect someone else's.
If your friend hands you a useless mask dont wear it... Buy a proper mask and give one to him... Wearing an ineffective mask is basically as bad as not wearing one ... Because that person thinks they are protecting others... But they are not.