Whether it’s the viewer who removes his mask at the beginning of the show to eat popcorn and never puts it back on, or the passenger on the subway who wears his mask just under his nose, wearing the mask in Ontario seems be literally declining.
But with COVID-19 cases on the rise again with cold weather, a reopened economy and stagnant vaccination rates, Canada’s director of public health is urging people to double down on masking as a tool to help stop airborne transmission.
In a series of tweets over the weekend, Dr. Theresa Tam emphasized that the virus can linger in the air we breathe, much like secondhand smoke, and a well-fitting mask is vital to protect yourself when spending time in indoor public spaces, particularly in the absence of good ventilation. .
There has been a paradigm shift in thinking behind wearing masks, to the current emphasis on protecting oneself rather than the initial consideration of keeping others safe from what we might be exhaling, said Colin Furness, a control epidemiologist of Infections from the University of Toronto. .
“The game has changed,” he said. “We are not masking ourselves to protect others from our own drops now, we are masking ourselves to protect ourselves from people who are indifferent and reckless.”
Family physician and epidemiologist Dr. Jeff Kwong added: “We are all so obsessed with vaccines, and definitely don’t get me wrong, they are very effective. But I think the masks are as important as the vaccine. ”
It is true that many may be under the impression that they are no longer needed, especially given the high vaccination rate, relatively low case counts, and patchy application of mask mandates that are still in effect for indoor public spaces, venues work and schools. But losing the mask is a losing proposition, doctors and scientists say.
“Just as vaccination provides us with an essential base layer for immune preparation and protection, masks are an essential top layer to prevent or reduce inhalation and spread of the virus between people.” Tam tweeted on Sunday.
Several regions that lifted mandatory masking policies earlier this year are already being forced to recall them to try to control cases. Alberta and Saskatchewan have upended their mask mandates after ending them this summer. And just last week, the Yukon government declared an emergency and announced that it was introducing new restrictions, including mandatory masking in all indoor public spaces and a vaccination test system for various public settings, amid a recent surge.
But with almost no desire among politicians and companies for future shutdowns closed, combined with the stagnation of the number of people receiving the first doses of the vaccine, and a certain percentage of the population simply rejecting the vaccines, the responsibility to stay free. of COVID increasingly falls on individuals.
And a big part of staying safe in this new “each person for himself” environment is making sure you don’t inhale any virus particles in the air around you.
“If it’s all up to us individuals now, if that’s the new plan, masks become hugely important because it’s the last line of defense,” Furness said. “You cannot control almost anything else about your environment or your interactions with others; you can control the use of masks. “
A recent outbreak at a Barrie-area church illustrates what can happen if masking protocols are not followed. According to Star’s sister newspaper, Barrie Advance, there have been complaints about masking and physical distancing in Mapleview Community Church, where the local health unit said there have been 22 linked cases.
Research from around the world shows that masks, particularly surgical or medical masks, can make a big difference in reducing your chances of contracting and dying from COVID.
A study published in the December 2020 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found that in countries where masks were the norm or supported by government policy, weekly COVID deaths per capita increased on average by 16, 2 percent, compared to 61.9 percent. percent in the countries studied that did not have such measures.
A large randomized trial that enrolled hundreds of thousands of people in rural Bangladesh, at a time when access to vaccines was nearly impossible, found a nine percent decrease in symptomatic COVID cases in villages where cloth masks were distributed and promoted, and a 11 percent decrease in cases in villages with surgical masks. The use of masks more than tripled where they were given. The findings are in a pre-print study sent to the journal Science.
“We recommend that if you have a choice between a surgical or cloth mask, you choose a surgical mask, because we have stronger evidence that it is effective in reducing COVID,” said study co-author Laura Kwong, assistant professor in Health Sciences. Environmental. at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.
“But if you have no choice and a cloth mask is your only option, then a cloth mask is better than none.”
Kwong compared masks to seat belts, even in areas with high vaccination rates. “Why do we put on our seat belts? Just in case.”
The researchers did not test the N95 masks due to cost considerations, but Kwong said that the KF94, the Korean masks made for the public, and the K95 mask, the Chinese version, are more affordable and accessible alternatives to the N95.
Another study, published in August 2020 in Science Advances, tested more than a dozen types of “garden variety” masks and found that N95 was the “gold standard” for blocking respiratory droplets, said Martin Fischer, professor. associate researcher in the Department of Chemistry. and Physics at Duke University, and one of the study’s co-authors.
The researchers found that surgical masks were next best, while neck gaiters, bandanas and knit masks performed poorly. Most of the layered fabric masks did a “perfectly adequate job of preventing or reducing droplet emission,” Fischer added, noting that people should use “common sense” when evaluating masks. “If it’s easy to breathe and you can see through it if you hold it up against the light, then the performance is probably not that good.”
Ontario health officials, in their orientation to hospitals and long-term care homes, continue to treat the virus as one that spreads primarily through large droplets and close contact rather than aerosols. This, despite a growing body of research concluding that COVID is transmitted through the air.
Health Canada’s advice on masks has evolved with the evidence and now includes a detailed guide on the agency’s official website on which type to choose and how to use them correctly.
Linsey Marr, a leading American aerosol scientist at Virginia Tech, was one of the first to sound the alarm bells last year about the evidence that COVID is transmitted through the air.
“It is crucial to wear a mask because the way the virus is transmitted is mainly through the air when you breathe it in,” he told Star. there are many viruses in the air around you, the mask will prevent you from inhaling it. “
Marr softened his comments by noting that masks alone won’t keep him completely safe. They are just one tool that can be used in combination with others (vaccines, air filtration and ventilation, physical distancing, and hand washing) that together provide a powerful barrier against transmission.
“Unfortunately, the virus is so transmissible, vaccines are very protective, but not 100 percent, it seems that we still need both vaccines and masks if we want to reduce transmission below a certain level.”
Reference-www.thestar.com