Thread by @akm5376

A quiet inclusion that #Covid19 is #airborne and trying to move on is not enough. It is okay to admit you were wrong if you want people to trust you ever again. Not doing so leads to unfair situations 1/

I am focusing on one such situation here that I shall refer to as droplet masking vs aerosol masking 2/

Masks under your nose - breathing, in itself also generates aerosols. It does not have to be big drops expelled from your mouth. So, cover both mouth and nose 3/

Masks need to fit snugly. Just wearing it is not enough, since it is not about blocking big droplets. Adjust the mask to fit your facial features

https://twitter.com/frankcos/status/1433123512974299143

4/

Keep your mask safe - wearing them around your arms, shoulders is not good for the elastic and a loose ear loop means it is not protecting you enough 5/

Mask up and keep quiet. Speaking not only produces more aerosols, it also intervenes with mask fit. But thinking in terms of droplets, these points would not occur to one. Image from Singapore MRT 6/

Facial hair makes a difference for aerosol leakage. If you want fit-tested respirators, you will need to shave off any facial hair that could interfere with the seal. But even for everyday masks, facial hair can make a difference. Trim up and help your masks do their job 7/

One of the issues that cropped up and has stayed with us due to the initial confusion regarding masking is masks protect others, but they can also protect you. Not all masks are equally good at that, but every mask is better than no mask 8/
doi.org/10.1021/acsnan…

Cloth masks are way worse than respirators. The idea is to use them as a community measure can work when we rely on everyone wearing one so that we have both inward and outward protection. Even so, they are not ideal for high exposure jobs, including HCWs. 9/

But we do not need to promote masks just as an altruistic measure - wear it for the community. No, wear it for yourself as well. In fact, wear a better mask to protect yourself and community better 10/

https://twitter.com/Amal4Solutions/status/1435661435653087235?s=20

For sources on where to get better masks - cleanaircrew.org/category/masks/
also, you can look up @projectn95 and @PPEtoheros