Thursday, July 16, 2020

(5) Gaj Wilcox

 Gaj Wilcox

"From the New England Journal of Medicine
“Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). 
  • The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. 
  • In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”
And
“A mask will not protect [health care] providers caring for a patient with active Covid-19 if it’s not accompanied by meticulous hand hygiene, eye protection, gloves, and a gown. 
A mask alone will not prevent health care workers with early Covid-19 from contaminating their hands and spreading the virus to patients and colleagues. 
Focusing on universal masking alone may, paradoxically, lead to more transmission of Covid-19 if it diverts attention from implementing more fundamental infection-control measures.”

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