I have experience as a first responders working with bio and chemical weapons response. I was involved in the anthrax response in 2002. If you think just wearing a N95 mask is the end all protection then you are wrong. First you MUST be fit tested with a pressure machine to ensure proper fit. This includes positive and negative pressure tests. I know no one has gotten that done. A mask is most efficient in an area that there is a high concentration of a hazardous substance such as a hospital. In areas that are more open especially outside there is a drastically reduced contagion. If you maintain a distance you will be more effective than wearing a mask within 2 feet of someone. I also see people wearing nitrile gloves and while it protects your hands, I see almost everyone cross contaminating other parts of their body, phones and bags because they touch them with the glove. This now becomes pointless to wear PPE. COVID is an ingestion/inhalation hazard not a permeable or penetrating hazard so wearing gloves doesn’t provide any additional protection. If you wash your hands before touching mucous membranes you will do a better job stoping contamination. You also must wash you hands after removing gloves no matter what. Doubt most are doing that.
5 healthcare workers got the Ebola virus in 2014 in The US. All got it because they improperly doffed (removed) their PPE. Simply wearing a mask, gloves won’t give you protection if you don’t properly wear it and remove it. It lends a false sense of security. If you choose to use this PPE you have a right but know how to properly use it. If someone doesn’t use it don’t condemn them because they may have more knowledge of better ways to stay protected. I know someone will question my opinion based on the experts on TV telling everyone to wear face coverings. This is a basic response to the general public who don’t have an advanced background. It is also a psychologically positive effect.
|