[HN Gopher] MIT study finds indoor mask wearing much more effect...
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       MIT study finds indoor mask wearing much more effective than social
       distancing
        
       Author : antattack
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2021-04-25 21:43 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.pnas.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.pnas.org)
        
       | excerionsforte wrote:
       | I mean respiratory virus meet respiratory system. You cover your
       | respiratory system and you are most of the way there for
       | protecting yourself. Social distancing indoors wouldn't be
       | effective without ventilation as you'd be breathing in the same
       | air that others are exhaling. Touching on the other hand, it is
       | very effective for.
       | 
       | You still wouldn't want to be in a room for extended time if
       | someone is exhaling the virus as the mask can only do so much.
       | 
       | Just more evidence for what I think is obvious.
        
       | briefcomment wrote:
       | "By assuming that the respiratory droplets are mixed uniformly
       | through an indoor space..."
       | 
       | ... Is this a reasonable starting point? Social distancing
       | assumes the distribution is not uniform. You would think the
       | researchers would try measuring the distribution first instead of
       | just assuming that a priori.
       | 
       | Edit: Haha, I'm struggling to understand the point of this study
       | when they state something like this: "These models are all based
       | on the premise that the space of interest is well mixed; thus,
       | the pathogen is distributed uniformly throughout. In such well-
       | mixed spaces, one is no safer from airborne pathogens at 60 ft
       | than 6 ft."
        
       | barathr wrote:
       | I hope we can get to a place by the Fall that everyone leaves
       | windows open in public buildings, workplaces, etc. if they can be
       | opened. It's the simplest mitigation strategy. The next easiest
       | is changing the HVAC system to pull outdoor air in rather than
       | recirculating the air, and putting in a higher MERV filter. Mask
       | wearing is good too, but should be seen as a bonus on top of
       | these simpler strategies. Less surface cleaning and more focus on
       | air.
        
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       (page generated 2021-04-25 23:00 UTC)