Earlier today, Mayor Emily Larson ended her emergency reign over Duluth and will let the mask ordinance she instated end on Saturday, February 12th. We will never know what lives were saved by this heroic act. In fact, we’ll never know if any lives were saved at all.
In a report from the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, several studies were cited that found masks other than N95 and medical masks offer little protection from aerosols. Citing fabric masks that were effective are 5-8 layers thick, but even the “8-layer cotton T-shirt mask” was only 67% effective in prevention of aerosols compared to the N95 at 95%+
“One major disagreement lied on the necessary requirement of mask wearing in the public places especially for those who are not infected with COVID‐19. For example, Hong Kong recommended mask wearing for all in order to prevent respiratory viruses, while Germany claimed no evidences that the masks could significantly reduce infection risks for healthy people (Feng et al., 2020). Furthermore, there have been disputes on the effectiveness of different types of masks for public usage, such as N95 respirators, medical masks and home‐made cloth masks (Feng et al., 2020; Loeb et al., 2009). Discussions on COVID‐19 related issues, particularly on mask mandate have been the major topics in the public life. So far, the research communities have not been able to provide conclusive and unified remarks on the effectiveness of the masks in fundamental mechanisms and specific functions, although face mask requirements have been recently issued by all states in the United States. It is, therefore, critical to provide first‐hand information to the general public and healthcare organizations on the overall performances of common and typical masks in a straightforward and tutorial fashion.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883189/
The study features several graphics that show masks can help if worn by an infected person breathing out particles that turn into aerosols, but masks other than N95s and similar style masks do not prevent “aerosol penetration” when breathing in.
Today, cases are dropping drastically around the country, just as they were predicted to. Was the mask mandate necessary? Was it worth it?
As part of the announcement, it was said that ” the city would require masks in their buildings, but businesses could make their own decisions on masking”. If that doesn’t just stop you in your tracks… “businesses can make their own decisions?” What a novel idea… in the United States of America.
Another variant is sure to spread through the country in the next month or two. One is already being reported in Europe with some cases reported in Wisconsin… so don’t toss your masks yet, the city will likely need to do some more virtue-signaling soon.