Had we all been wearing surgical masks in public since the 90s, probably well over a million lives would have been saved by now from flu deaths alone.

Basically, since the 90s we've put a much much higher value on human life. I expect mask usage to extend far beyond covid and handshaking to cease being a cultural greeting.

Who needs to take the risk of physical human contact or to see the smile of a stranger walking down the street when you can survive a few years longer depressed inside a sterile bubble.

Are smiles from strangers really that important to your well being?

It's an example of positive daily human interaction. Keeping minimum distance and hiding the most expressive part of the body removes a lot of that from daily life, and people do suffer from it.

The world is significantly colder this year. I can't be the only one that feels it.

> It's an example of positive daily human interaction.

I find adults smiling to be gaudy and disconcerting, ever since I was a child. My wife included, although I like most of her so it's ok. Children don't bother me though, as it seems sincere.

Why can't "oh, you're wearing a mask, to protect me!" be a "positive daily human interaction"? Perhaps we're just mis-framing things?

Would you feel good about someone smiling at you they were forced by law to smile?

Sure, if their refusal to smile might kill me, and smiling cost them little/nothing to do.

Why do you think that?

COVID-19 has become more infectious over the course of the pandemic, with a strain that results in higher viral loads becoming predominant: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32697968/

It's hard to compare across countries. But mask-wearing Japan and South Korea have higher rates of flu and pneumonia deaths than the US/Canada/Europe: https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/influenza...

As surgical masks are much less than 100% effective even in ideal conditions, let alone actual wear, it wouldn't be surprising if more usage of them would just be an evolutionary pressure for flu to have higher viral output. Quite similar to how widespread use of less than 100% effective anti-bacterial agents just results in bacteria evolving resistance, reducing the usefulness of those agents for the most vulnerable part of the population who need them most.

> It's hard to compare across countries. But mask-wearing Japan and South Korea have higher rates of flu and pneumonia deaths than the US/Canada/Europe

Possibly confounded by disparate population densities.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_depend...

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Israel are all slightly less dense than South Korea, and more dense than Japan. Yet all three have significantly lower flu/pneumonia death rates than either South Korea or Japan.

Bangladesh also has a slightly lower flu/pneumonia death rate than Japan, even though it has 3x the density (though Bangladesh has a somewhat lower life expectancy (72) than Japan (84); Belgium, Netherlands, and Israel are all fairly close (80+) to Japan).

Do you have a source for that?

These suits do not seen airtight at all, quite the opposite in fact.

I think they are just sting-proof suits.

Point. They have taped seams, but breathable fabric would make more sense.