I would assume that the advice to sanitise before removing the mask is because your hands will be in proximity with your face - so better safe than sorry - and to sanitise again after removing the mask is because you've then touched an 'unsafe' surface. I would also guess that masks are only slightly more susceptible to virus contamination than your clothes (breathing in must create some form of low pressure that sucks in particles and typically your mask is roughly on the same level as another person's - so closer to a contaminated source?) - so touching a mask is no different to touching any 'unsafe' surface as far as I can see. Not sure if that covers what you were asking!
From the gov site about 'why' a mask is worn:
'....
Coronavirus (COVID-19) usually spreads by droplets from coughs,
sneezes and speaking. These droplets can also be picked up from
surfaces, if you touch a surface and then your face without washing your
hands first. This is why social distancing, regular hand hygiene, and
covering coughs and sneezes is so important in controlling the spread of
the virus.
The best available scientific evidence is that, when used correctly,
wearing a face covering may reduce the spread of coronavirus droplets in
certain circumstances, helping to protect others.
Because face coverings are mainly intended to protect others from
coronavirus (COVID-19) rather than the wearer, they are not a
replacement for social distancing and regular hand washing. It is
important to follow all the other government advice on coronavirus
(COVID-19), including staying safe outside your home.
Not sure I'm over thinking it as I was just quoting what the gov says. Presumably you have the same issue in a clinical environment. Just wearing PPE isn't the be all and end all - it's the protocol used in wearing the PPE that's also critical isn't it?How useful is PPE in a clinical environment if the procedures for using it aren't followed? Isn't that then the same in a non-clinical environment?
Oh well, the focus seems to be masks at the moment -and I'll carry on wearing mine but I have my reservations about how they're misused and abused and how that then affects their effectiveness.
Went to a slightly bigger Tesco than my usual one, bloke in there guessing in his 30s every time I have seen him, he has his mask round his chin, chatting to colleague, yesterday, could stand it no longer, made a trip to Customer Service, last week, the Security bloke in his little podium also wearing mask round chin!
@steveTu. If you consider that wearing a mask is primarily to stop you infecting others, then the most contaminated surface is the inside. Fiddling with it, whilst not a good thing by any means, with most people doesn't involve touching the inside surface - it's normally hitching it up because it's slipped off their nose. Whilst you are correct that it would be better if we all had masks that fit properly and that we put them on, don't touch them, take them off and clean them properly, the risk generally to people around of someone wearing a mask not covering their nose is probably much greater than the risk of their being very much active virus on the outer surface of said mask and them transferring it to you on their hands or surfaces they touch. None of it is fool proof, it's all just improving the odds. This was posted by someone - Obelixx? - right back at the start of lockdown #1 . I don't know how verified the figures are, but the principle holds. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
AFAIK there haven't been any studies that show the effectiveness of masks in real life due to the obvious issues.
I haven't and don't dispute a masks ability at filtering 'things' - I wear a mask when I sand things - my only concern is as stated - that the misuse and abuse of masks decreases their effectiveness and potentially lead to manual transmission risks. The graphic you show only shows one aspect doesn't it?
As for manual transmission, I follow that the view is the virus primarily spreads via respiration. Fine. But, unless I'm going mad, since day 1 all the advice in the UK has been about distancing and hygiene. If manual transmission is not a real factor, why constantly wash hands? And is manual transmission not a major issue because of hygiene? So touching any 'unsafe' surface (be that a mask or anything else) needs to be treated the same doesn't it? It doesn't matter if the mask is intended to protect the wearer or not. The mask becomes an 'unsafe' surface (both the inside and outside) as soon as you put it on and wear it in public where other people are in proximity.
It's so difficult to see the effectiveness of masks in a public setting. If you look at the gov's figures here https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases and then look at when masks were introduced (July 14th) it's impossible to tell if they had any effect at all or whether the numbers would have been stupidly higher had they not been introduced.
I would be interested to know, where in the grand scheme of R0, mask wearing fits or if that can even be assessed. Again I know any small reduction of R0 is welcome and all the small interventions add up.
The masks don't filter virus particles when you exhale, the thinking is that they just reduce the distance your exhaled breaths travel to a zone that's within your personal space.
I'm pretty sure the vast majority of transmission is actually occurring from people breaking the rules, or scenarios within the rules where unfortunately several things go wrong. You can imagine things like a child coming back from school after being infected from a classmate and mixing with the parents, then a single person visiting that household under the 'bubble' exemption, then going and sitting in an office with lots of other people etc.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
Posts
Coronavirus (COVID-19) usually spreads by droplets from coughs, sneezes and speaking. These droplets can also be picked up from surfaces, if you touch a surface and then your face without washing your hands first. This is why social distancing, regular hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes is so important in controlling the spread of the virus.
The best available scientific evidence is that, when used correctly, wearing a face covering may reduce the spread of coronavirus droplets in certain circumstances, helping to protect others.
Because face coverings are mainly intended to protect others from coronavirus (COVID-19) rather than the wearer, they are not a replacement for social distancing and regular hand washing. It is important to follow all the other government advice on coronavirus (COVID-19), including staying safe outside your home.None of it is fool proof, it's all just improving the odds. This was posted by someone - Obelixx? - right back at the start of lockdown #1 . I don't know how verified the figures are, but the principle holds.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I'm pretty sure the vast majority of transmission is actually occurring from people breaking the rules, or scenarios within the rules where unfortunately several things go wrong. You can imagine things like a child coming back from school after being infected from a classmate and mixing with the parents, then a single person visiting that household under the 'bubble' exemption, then going and sitting in an office with lots of other people etc.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55639456
I'm ashamed to say I'm a covidiot😕