Protects Others from You, Not You from Others

In this current climate where WHO has asked countries to “prepare for a pandemic” even as the number of new COVID-19 infections outside China has been on an upward trend, demand for the humble mask rises again. Right now, almost every shop in my area does not sell any kind of masks (surgical or even respirator like N-95 or others) as they are out of stock, and any masks that came in get snapped up really quickly, at least much faster than I could check these shops for stocks.

Many insisted that I don a mask when I go outside, even when the authorities have repeatedly said that there is no need for any one who is healthy and not showing any flu-like symptoms to wear one. When you wear a mask, the mask is intended to protect people from you, not protect you from other people. Despite this repeated advice, I still get people chastising me for not wearing a mask when I go out, many kept insisting that the mask does offer some form of protection against others.

Someone pointed out that the Chinese government has ordered the Chinese citizens to don a mask whenever they go out. But I suspect that the intention of the ruling is to get people who may be carrying the disease unknowingly to mask up so that they infect less people and also reduces the chances of them infecting others.

Not designed to be fool-proof

In the first place, the mask is not a 100% solid barrier because if it is that solid, you cannot breathe when you wear it. Instead you will probably die of suffocation. The surgical mask, for example, is designed to prevent large droplets from you from reaching the world beyond the mask. It is porous to help you breathe, which means it have tiny holes that allow air to move in and out and hence, tiny, little droplets that may carry the COVID-19 virus can still penetrate the mask to enter your body. Maybe we can make the “holes” in the masks small enough to stop these viruses from entering our nose and mouth but if that is the case, the mask will be too expensive for laymen like you and me.

Secondly, the nose and mouth are not the only openings in our body. Our eyes, ears and skin have openings so as to connect with the world outside. The tiny droplets carrying the COVID-19 or any influenza virus can still penetrate the eyes, ears, and particularly our skin to cause an infection. I guess the best way to prevent any such virus masked in any droplet from reaching a person is when the person is donned in a suit like what Darth Vader did in Star Wars.

The following is an interesting read on protection.

Unmasked: Experts explain necessary respiratory protection for COVID-19

Masks in the Gym? Seriously…

I’ve been seeing people showing up in my gym wearing a surgical mask and in one case, an N-95. A gym is an enclosed area where people work out and sweat. Sweat are water droplets that can carry germs, bacteria and I believe, viruses as well. I think that being responsible adults, these people who came to the gym wearing masks are not sick (hence no need to protect others from them) but if they are concerned about how others may spread the disease to them, shouldn’t they stay away from the gym? Or any enclosed spaces?

Yes, the staff at the gyms work really hard to the equipment, mats and rooms clean and urge all of us to behave responsibly. But face it, there are so many people who come and go in the gym, and not all of them are that diligent or considerate, as in, they will not wipe up after they use the equipment or sterilize the mats after use, there is only so much that the staff can do. It is never going to be very clean, and it is the case everywhere. And unless you are holed up in a cave or an island all by yourself, you cannot avoid being in contact with the environment and people around you, and this is even more so in an enclosed space like the gym.

So if you are going to wear a mask to the gym, maybe you should consider staying away instead.