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Re:Miscalculation at every level left U.S. unequipped to fig... by DrScump on Thursday April 30, 2020 @03:15AM (#23028270)

  the masks do protect the healthcare workers
Because properly equipped healthcare workers are also wearing eye protection. SARS-CoV-2 will quite happily enter at the eyes; in fact, eyes are a bigger attack surface than nostrils.

With respect to protection from SARS coronaviruses, wearing just a mask and no eye protection is like a hockey goalie wearing a helmet but no mask.

Re:Miscalculation at every level left U.S. unequipped to fig... by MagnumOpus on Thursday April 30, 2020 @03:44AM (#23028451)
> like a hockey goalie wearing a helmet but no mask.

An apt comparison -- a damage reduction by 66% using only a fabric mask is massively worse than a damage reduction by 95% using proper PPE and procedures. In fact, it leaves you 7 times more likely to get infected (get hurt by a puck). But if anyone tried to sell the NHL-watching public the line that "helmets don't help", they would be rightfully humiliated in public.

Re:Miscalculation at every level left U.S. unequipped to fig... by loopz on Thursday April 30, 2020 @04:04AM (#23028579)
For a helmet to help, it needs to be fit for purpose, otherwise they're dangerous as people assume they provide safety.

When found, copy-cat masks are destroyed at border control, as they also don't provide the benefits to contain contagion.