NEW YORK (AP) – Does wearing a mask pose any health risks?
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No, not for most people. Babies and toddlers should not wear masks because they could suffocate. The same goes for anyone who has trouble removing a mask without help.
Others can wear masks without risking their health, according to experts, despite false rumors to the contrary.
In areas where COVID-19 is spreading, health experts agree that wearing masks or other face coverings in public helps reduce the risk of spreading the virus when people can’t socially distance by staying 6 feet apart.
The coronavirus mainly spreads through droplets that are emitted when people talk, laugh, sing, cough and sneeze. Masks lower the likelihood of those droplets reaching other people. Even if you don’t have symptoms, you could be carrying the virus and could spread it.
When it’s humid outside, it could feel like it’s harder to breathe if you’re not used to wearing a mask, said Benjamin Neuman, a professor of biology at Texas A&M University-Texarkana. But he said masks don’t meaningfully decrease oxygen in the body.
“The body is quite good at adjusting to keep oxygen levels where they need to be,” he said.
There’s also no evidence that the use of masks causes fungal or bacterial infections, according to Davidson Hamer, an infectious disease expert at Boston University. Disposable face masks are meant to be used once, then thrown in the garbage. With cloth masks, it’s a good idea to wash them regularly.
Wearing a mask may be uncomfortable, but health officials say you should resist any urge to touch your face. That could bring germs from your hands into your nose, mouth or eyes.
If a surgeon and surgical team can be in a surgical mask for anywhere between 1 and 12 hours at a time without any difficulty, so can you. Have checked for the numbers and haven’t found any sources that have asphyxiation by surgical mask deaths recorded.
People who don’t wear masks forget that more than their being beneficial to the wearer, they are meant to protect others. If you are one of those people who is now letting down your guard because the numbers are so low in our community I can understand. However you should still be wearing masks, indoors at least, to protect others. Those who make fun of wearing masks and don’t wear them are being inconsiderate and selfish, besides putting themselves in danger from people who are carriers (i.e. people coming from hot spots around the country and Israel). As an older person, I hesitate to run errands due to the many people who are not wearing masks, even though I too would love to get out more after such a long lockdown.
Prof. Yoram Lass, the former director general of the Ministry of Health in ISRAEL, continues to press for calming panic over coronavirus.
“There was no first wave – a lie. In March, April and May, 115 less people died in the State of Israel compared to the same period last year. There was no first wave, it is in the hysterical mind of you know who. In Europe and America there was a very respectable first wave, and no second wave,” Lass said in an interview in Israel on 103fm.
“No government in the world can stop the virus. This is shown by the fact that the only place in the world where there is no virus is Antarctica. The entire world is full of the virus.
He added: “The entire state of Israel is full of the virus, no one will stop it. 5 to 10 percent of the population has been infected, it has no significance, it’s like the contagious winter viruses.
“Despite the vaccine’s existence, one million Israelis are actually infected with the flu, 1,000 die of flu complications. In the winter, there’s a huge wave of mortality that doesn’t interest you.”
Lass called to “meticulously follow the law,” but also “think.”
“Don’t let them brainwash you. Interests stand behind this, as well as foolishness and hysteria. There is a mental illness called anxiety. Believe me, it is an illness from which it is hard to recover, and one who fears does not see the data. There was no first wave in Israel. There is no second wave.
“As you do more tests, you find more people – who are healthy – testing positive. And the government insists on calling them sick.
“This issue of coronavirus, which is unprecedented in the modern era, will be studied in social science faculties. There was a social phenomenon here because of the virus of social networks, which really brainwashed the entire world.”
The number of people diagnosed with the virus yesterday was Wednesday, 925, with some counts giving over 1,000. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene the Corona Cabinet tomorrow afternoon. The Knesset gave final approval for the resumption of Shin Bet tracking and decided to impose a partial lockdown on Ashdod and Lod neighborhoods.
Professor Lass is just one opinon among a few. There aren’t many who agree. Of course I can bring you many expert opposing views.
I WORKED LAST 20 YEARS WITH FACE MASK ON DAILY, FOR 6-10 HOURS
AND DO NOT FEEL ANY (BRAIN)HARM DISCUSSED IN AMERICAN MEDIA.
IT IS SIMPLY THE BASIC.
ON TOP OF IT I NEED OPTICAL EYEGLASSES TO SEE PROPERLY.
“There’s also no evidence that the use of masks causes fungal or bacterial infections, according to Davidson Hamer, an infectious disease expert at Boston University. Disposable face masks are meant to be used once, then thrown in the garbage. With cloth masks, it’s a good idea to wash them regularly.”
Does anyone not realize that the first part contradicts the second? The benefits may outweigh the risks, or not, but lying that “there is no evidence” when in fact there are documented cases of bacterial infection from prolonged mask use and the need for constant mask switching is well known in the medical community, and is evidenced by the very statement that you have to dispose of or clean your mask.
So, if you properly clean and sanitize your mask you can avoid this risk. That isn’t a public health policy, that is utopian thinking.