I spent all day in an N95 face mask to see if it’s as dangerous as anti-maskers say

[Zach Epstein]

• The coronavirus pandemic is completely out of control in the United States, and there are two main reasons why.
• First, the White House has been completely and utterly useless where planning and guidance are concerned.
• Second, many people aren't wearing face masks — either because they don't think COVID-19 is as serious as everyone says, or because they've been convinced that face masks are a health hazard.

The United States is doing a worse job than any other developed nation at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus. People in the Northeast got a harsh dose of reality early on when new case numbers and deaths were spiking back in March and April. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the country didn't get the message. As soon as economies began reopening prematurely, millions of Americans let down their guard and tried to go back to their normal routines. Needless to say, this was an enormous mistake. New COVID-19 cases are now skyrocketing all across the country and imminent school reopenings are only going to make things worse. Much worse, in fact, since there is still absolutely no guidance from the White House. Just look at Georgia's school reopenings, which are already an unmitigated disaster after just one week.

We now know that the novel coronavirus is transmitted from person to person mainly through the air. We know that infected people can shed infectious amounts of the virus by coughing, sneezing, singing, yelling, or even just by talking. We know that people with COVID-19 can spread the disease even when they're presymptomatic. We also know that asymptomatic cases can spread the disease as well — read about how one asymptomatic person spread the virus to 69 other people she never even came in contact with, just by using the elevator.

Even though it has only been about seven months since the novel coronavirus began spreading, we know so much about it — including the knowledge that people can dramatically reduce their chances of catching and spreading COVID-19 by doing a few simple things like practicing social distancing, washing hands often, and wearing face masks. Remember the hairstylists with COVID-19 who didn't spread it to any of their 140 clients because everyone was wearing masks?

Continue reading...

Today's Top Deals

1. Amazon has 3M N95 face masks and Purell available for everyone right now, not just hospitals
2. Only Prime members can grab these 10 awesome Amazon deals
3. Today’s best deals: Lysol wipes, 3M N100 face masks, Purell and Germ-x sanitizers, Sony WH1000XM4 headphones, more

Trending Right Now:

1. There’s a weird new coronavirus symptom you might accidentally ignore
2. With coronavirus cases surging, Dr. Fauci says there are 8 things you need to avoid
3. Hubble just made a major breakthrough in the search for alien life

I spent all day in an N95 face mask to see if it’s as dangerous as anti-maskers say originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 7 Aug 2020 at 10:22:31 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Via BRG - Boy Genius Report