Mask facts from The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons:
- Conclusion: Wearing masks will not reduce SARS-CoV-2.N95 masks protect health care workers, but are not recommended for source control transmission.
- Surgical masks are better than cloth but not very efficient at preventing emissions from infected patients.
- Cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Known patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 wore masks and coughed into a Petrie dish. “Both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.”
- Medical masks offered no protection at all from influenza.
- The wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks.
- If you are sick, stay home!