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Comment by jariel | Hacker News Reader

I think in this case any piece of cloth will do - we're not talking N95s. Basically, it reduces the likelihood of spittle etc. and so it reduces spread.

That said Taiwan, S. Korea, Singapore are all riding the Subways, going to Restaurants, going to work.

They're more aggressive with testing and tracking.

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The Instagram and Etsy crowd need to popularize fashionable home-made masks like the ones the new Slovakian president wears.

https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/fmeyis/corona_fashi...

And day before https://i.redd.it/njkm2on8kwn41.jpg

It also keeps your hands away from your mucus membranes. Just tying a bandana around your face is absolutely a useful mitigation. But staying home is better.

If anything it makes you touch your face more -- masks are weird and itchy, and they need to be adjusted when they slip.

There's good reasons why the CDC, Public Health England, The World Health Organisation, etc etc all say that masks don't work. ANd that's because they don't work.

> Just tying a bandana around your face is absolutely a useful mitigation.

This "protective" mask will helpfully absorb any moisture droplets and hold them in place in front of your mouth and nose, and you will breathe in the virus as these droplets dry out. https://twitter.com/MedtechMustKnow/status/12412950342860841...

The CDC actually says masks work if you dig down to details.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/2/03-0730_article

During SARS, they reduced risk by 70%, and that’s among the general public, not healthcare workers. No reason it’d be different here.

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