viruses go right through
a piece of cloth is no barrier to a fragment of RNA with adjoined proteins
Whilst this is true, there is an important distinction between the virus
inside the mask getting
out, and the virus
outside the mask getting
in. Reminds me of
the problem of J Edgar Hoover.
If someone has the virus, and coughs up some infected mucus - which is a primary transmission mechanism - then the mask just needs to contain the droplet in order to stop nearby people from getting infected. The limiting factor is surely mucus droplet size rather than virus size, if the virus is inside the droplet? Apologies if I'm mistaken, but this is my understanding. Respiratory droplets are a much bigger factor than the smaller, 'airborne' droplets.
To quote the beleaguered
WHO:
Modes of transmission of the COVID-19 virus
Respiratory infections can be transmitted through droplets of different sizes: when the droplet particles are >5-10 μm in diameter they are referred to as respiratory droplets, and when then are <5μm in diameter, they are referred to as droplet nuclei.1 According to current evidence, COVID-19 virus is primarily transmitted between people through respiratory droplets and contact routes
Of course there is the issue about the mask itself coming into contact with the virus and then acting as a contact transmission route. I'll agree this is a concern, but does it outweigh the protection a mask affords?
Can you honestly say that if someone with the virus is standing right in front of you and coughs, you are not bothered whether they cough into a mask or straight into your face? Also remember that
quantity of exposure appears to be a factor in severity of symptoms. Even if a mask only stops 50% of the virus from spreading, that's a huge help.
Further (sorry, I'll shut up soon), I would argue that even if a mask has an overall zero effect, i.e. the quantity of virus is stops is balanced by the amount it spreads through becoming a contact source, then masks can still be a psychological help for the millions of people who have spend months in lockdown and are panicked about going out in public again.
The facemask might provide psychological help for people, but does this kind of help stop actual physical diseases?
It has already been reported several times in this forum, that a virus in the air lasts only a short time. So, what if you have a virus in a respiratory droplet? Since it doesn't touch the air until further evaporation of the droplet, the virus might last in the air for a long time.
What about maintaining a virus "farm" in the masks? Are the masks being disposed of properly? What is properly? It's already been reported in this forum that viruses on materials can last dozens of times longer than they can in the air. Have we been instructed, or do we even know, proper mask usage and disposal procedures? At what point do the masks, themselves, become the danger?
Certainly a mask is better than a person coughing right into your face. But people have been taught over their whole lifetimes not to do this... even if it happens once in a while.
Perhaps we are at a standstill with the mask question. How can we know the effectiveness vs the dangers of masks in society? Are their society studies on these points... studies done by professional researchers?
Personally, I think that the dangers of masks worn beyond just a moment or two, outweigh the dangers of not wearing masks at all.