WEBVTT - Why We Should All Be Wearing Face Masks 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:04.120 It's Thursday, April two. I'm Oscar Ramirez from the Daily 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:07.040 Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is your daily 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:12.040 coronavirus update. The CDC is considering recommendations for people to 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:16.000 wear face masks while out in public. Previously, the recommendation 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.840 was not to buy any masks, as medical workers needed 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.360 them and they were in short supply. But we have 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:23.200 gotten to the point where we need to step up 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:26.880 efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus. Masks reduced the 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.319 spread of infectious disease by catching microbes expelled by the 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:33.840 wearer and also protecting them from outside microbes. And while 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.360 they might not catch everything, there's a strong case we 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:40.040 should all be wearing masks during a pandemic. Farris Jaber, 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.320 writer for Wired, joins us for how wearing face masks 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.239 could help. Thanks for joining us, Farris, Yes, thank you 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:49.000 for having me. We're gonna be talking about face masks. 0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:53.080 The CDC is considering recommending the general public start wearing 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:55.880 face coverings in public. There's been a lot of back 0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:00.600 and forth, obviously when this whole pandemic started, especially here 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.440 in the United States. The officials worth telling people don't 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.320 buy face mask because there was a critical shortage for 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:10.000 medical workers that needed them. Then they said, hey, if 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:12.600 you're sick, maybe you should wear, but if you're healthy, 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:15.120 you don't need to. Now all of this is changing, 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.920 The guidelines might be changing very soon. But Farris, you 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:21.720 wrote an article about how it's kind of time to 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.240 face it, face the facts that masks do work even 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:29.559 if they're not effective. What they do provide could help 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.039 help the spread of the COVID nineteen as we're experiencing 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:35.280 it right now. So in other words, any little bit 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.640 helps kind of thing. Uh, Farris tells us a little 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.280 bit more about that. That's right. So that the official 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.880 guidance from the CDC and the WHO has been that 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:48.600 masks are not effective when it comes to the general public. 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.480 That they are effective for healthcare workers, but there's not 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.960 really strong evidence that they can help prevent members of 0:01:54.960 --> 0:01:57.920 the general public from getting a respiratory illness. But when 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:00.160 you really look at the evidence as a whole, well, 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:04.600 I think there is pretty pretty compelling reasons that members 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.560 of the general public should wear masks as well. Um, 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:09.800 And so there's different kinds of mass that kind of 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.680 get lumped together. Sometimes the N nine respirators are the 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.280 most efficient and effective, and those are the ones that 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:20.160 are really essential for for healthcare workers who perform procedures 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:24.120 that generate these really tiny respiratory droplets that are difficult 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.480 to filter out. And for most people, that level of 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:31.240 protection is not necessary because we're not constantly in contact 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.680 with infected people the way that doctors and nurses are. 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:37.040 And then the second level is a surgical mask, which 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:41.000 is usually a soft pleated rectangle, and those work really 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.440 well um too. And then doctors and nurses use those 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:46.440 all the time as well when they're not doing high 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:50.200 risk procedures. But unfortunately, right now in the US and 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:54.120 many other countries, there's simply two massive shortage of nine 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:57.360 and surgical masks for the public to use those. You know, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.360 any any new ones that are produced really should be 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:02.840 going to hospitals and healthcare workers. So the best option 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.680 for everybody else right now is to make fabric masks 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.520 at home UM. And there are a few studies that 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:12.720 have examined how well fabric masks work against influenza and 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:15.960 other respiratory diseases, and the answer is not as well 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:19.480 as surgical masks and nine, but still surprisingly well. They 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:24.120 definitely provide some protection. And if you know, there's increasing 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:27.720 evidence that with COVID there's a lot of people who 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:31.600 are infected but don't realize it. They don't have noticeable symptoms, 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.440 so they could be out and about on their essential tasks, 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:37.600 buying food or medicine, spreading the virus without realizing it 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:40.280 because they don't feel that anything is wrong. So if 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.800 everybody puts on a mask, that could powerfully reduce the 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.240 risk of transmitting the virus. And that's exactly why the 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:49.600 guidelines might be changing. It's for these people that are 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.760 asymptomatic that could be spreading it and not knowing it. 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:56.400 Most of these droplets, these respiratory droplets that get thrown 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:59.640 out there. It happens when you're talking, but mostly when 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:01.920 you're offing or sneezing. Is when they're gonna be traveling 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:05.320 distances that could be dangerous to people. You were talking 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.360 about some studies that were done on different types of 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.680 masks and and and alternatives. There was one that came 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:15.120 out in ten where scientists compared the filtration efficiency of 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:19.760 the surgical mask to Linen's a silk scarf, kitchen towel 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.760 vacuum cleaner bags. Tell us how that one turned out. Yeah, 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:26.200 that's an interesting study which has been cited a lot, 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.920 because they really looked at quite a wide variety of 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.200 homemade materials, you know, a household materials a lot of 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:35.880 people would have access to. And um, the vacuum cleaner 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.599 bag turned out to be the second best after the 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:42.160 surgical mass because it is so dense and tightly woven. 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:45.440 But the problem is that it's really uncomfortable to wear 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.560 a vacuum cleaner bag over your face for a long 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:50.599 period of time. Just so they ended up favoring the 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:55.080 cotton T shirt and the kitchen towel because those are 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:59.200 both fairly dense but still breathable and still comfortable. They 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.080 have some allow asticity to them, and they really, they 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:04.599 really thought that a homemade mask mean out of a 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:08.680 cotton T shirt was the best option. Um. I recently 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:12.200 heard someone doing something kind of clever. So certain certain 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:14.839 homemade fabric masks that you can buy on Etsy or 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.920 that people are making in their communities have a pocket 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.680 in them, and some people will buy a manufactured filter. 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:23.440 It's just sort of like a little path that you 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.400 slip into that pocket. But somebody said that they put 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.599 a vacuum cleaner bag or part of one inside that pocket, 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.440 which I think is a pretty good idea. It's worth trying. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:35.239 As long as you can breathe through it, that's okay. 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.440 You know, you don't want to impede your breathing too much, 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.719 but you want to get something that's that's pretty tight 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:42.880 and dense to be able to block out those particles. 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:45.480 When I saw that part of that study, I mean 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:47.880 I immediately chuckled a little bit because I remember the 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.080 big vacuum bags from when I was a kid, you know, 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:52.120 having to do chores, and it's like, I mean, have 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.080 to put a whole bag on my head for this 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:57.200 to work. But okay, So the question is, uh, you 0:05:57.240 --> 0:05:59.800 know these ninety five and the surgical masks, they have 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.480 filters in them. If people need to make one at home, 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:05.839 you know, out of a T shirt, claws, other claws 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.240 or whatever. What should they be doing for that filter 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:10.240 to to be able to filter out as much as 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:13.520 they can? Right? So, the filter that's used in nine 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.240 surgical masks is a really special kind of material. It's 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.280 usually called melt blown fabric or or spun fabric, and 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:25.880 it's basically cotton, candy, plastic. It's you know, it's extremely 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.920 tiny filaments of plastic and it's produced by machines that 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:33.679 cost millions of dollars to construct, and their massive, massive machines, 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:37.719 so it's really difficult to replicate that kind of material exactly. 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:42.760 So you know, still okay though, to just have cotton 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.480 or just have a towel over your face, because the 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.680 idea really is to catch the brunt of a cough 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:51.320 or a sneeze. You know, there's there's all these large 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:53.640 globs of mucus that are visible that you're going to 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.360 catch and stop, and those all contain virus in them 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.800 and as well, so you don't you don't only have 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.799 to prevent the really tiny particles with with a special 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:05.640 manufactured filter. But some people you know that will try 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:09.240 to find these uh sort of filter replacements that are 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:12.560 meant to be slipped inside fabric masks. Um there, you 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:14.760 know they were. I think they're more common Asian than 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:16.400 they are in the West, but they are sort of 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.720 out there and some people will find them online. But 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.360 that I don't, you know, it's really not necessary I 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:23.560 think it from most people, it's it's okay just to 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.000 have one or two layers of cotton or another another 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.600 suitable material. That's basically where we've gotten to this point. 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.240 Early on they said, hey, don't buy the masks, medical 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:35.240 professionals need them, and you're not going to wear it 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.680 right either, and you're gonna be touching your face. But 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:40.160 we've gotten to this point where we really want to 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:42.920 stem the flow of this spread. And at this point 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:45.440 anything helps, you know, just as you mentioned, you know, 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:48.080 even wearing some cotton T shirt is going to catch 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.760 at least the biggest parts of a coffer a sneeze. 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:52.400 And so this is the point that we're at and 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:56.920 this is why these recommendations might be changing. That's right, 0:07:56.960 --> 0:07:59.440 and it's a good point to bring up the use 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:01.960 of mass because it does make a big difference in 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.480 how effective they are. And you know, there are some 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:07.320 basic guidelines to follow, just as there are you know 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:10.160 with handwashing, and it's it's really not that difficult to learn. 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:12.640 I think the most important things to remember is that 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.160 when you should you really have to treat the mask 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:18.640 like something that is very sterile and sanitized. So when 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:20.960 you when you before you put it on, wash your hands. 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:23.600 Once you have it on your face, go out and 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:25.680 do whatever you have to do, and do not touch 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:28.280 the mask, don't fidget with it, don't take it off 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:31.480 for anything, just leave it alone. When you come back home, 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:34.800 remove the mask by the strings or the ear loops. 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:37.480 Do not touch the front piece, which is probably caught 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:41.120 microbes in it, and then immediately sanitize that by putting 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.280 it into a hot wash. If it's a fabric mask, 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.920 or if you've made a disposable paper mask, just throw 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:48.800 it away immediately. And that those are really the basic 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:50.559 steps you need to know to make sure that you're 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:54.080 not accidentally contaminating yourself with the mass. There was a 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.440 line you put in your article that says, the collective 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:00.839 evidence makes a strong case for universal mask wearing a pandemic, 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.520 and there was two things that you mentioned throughout the article. 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:05.760 You know, if you look at photos of Americans during 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:09.040 the nineteen eighteen influenza pandemic, which a lot of people 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.400 have been referencing as of lately because of this, you know, 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.640 you see a lot of photos people are all wearing masks. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:18.480 And then beyond that, culturally, in Japan, it's rude if 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:20.520 you're not wearing one if you're sick, because you don't 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:22.480 want to get other people sick. I just was on 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:25.280 a trip to Japan in December, right before all of 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:28.319 this started, and yeah, they're everywhere, and it's just a 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.880 normal practice for them. Coupled all this together, you know, yeah, 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.120 it very much does make the case for when something 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.920 is going around like this, we should be protecting ourselves, 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.599 even if it's not with an end ninety five or 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:43.959 a surgical mass specifically exactly. And it's really interesting that, 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:46.960 you know, Japan and some of the other Asian countries 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:51.640 which have had repeated experiences with epidemics and pandemics that 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.440 we haven't had here in the US and scient eighteen, 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.600 they are the countries where mask wearing is much more 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:01.120 culturally ingrained. And they're also of the countries that are 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:03.720 handling this pandemic a lot better. They're having much better 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.840 outcomes so far. And it's absolutely true there's many other 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:09.720 factors at play. You know that they've acted faster, they've 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:13.680 acted more rigorously. Um but a lot of people think 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.640 the maths are a big part of that as well. 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:19.040 And it's also interesting that in nineteen eighteen, it was 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:23.640 actually America's widespread use of mass that originally inspired Japan 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.880 to start doing the same, which seems so odd today 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.160 because it's so culturally ingrained there and so foreign and 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:34.800 almost taboo here. But Japanese health authorities were directly inspired 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:39.240 by Americans recommending that everybody wrapped their faces and gauze. Yeah, 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.280 I'm sure everybody's gonna be seeing a lot of guides 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.240 online for how to make your own masks. I've already 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:46.040 seen a bunch, but I'm sure there's going to be 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.160 increased posts regarding that. I'm sure we'll start getting it 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.000 together on that front. I don't know if it will 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.240 ever become a cultural thing here in the United States, 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.680 but it's definitely something to watch out for, at least 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:01.600 on that right. Farris Jaber, writer for Wired, thank you 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:06.800 very much for joining us. Thank you. I'm Oscar Ramirez 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.320 and this has been your daily coronavirus update. Don't forget that. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.319 For today's big news stories, you can check me out 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.520 on the Daily Dive podcast every Monday through Friday. So 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:17.920 follow us on I Heart Radio or wherever you get 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:18.760 your podcasts.