CV and mad panic behaviour

[LP]

Without saying that masks are ineffective I have read in more than one place that they are not exactly at the top of the list of effective counter measures. One description was "like trying to catch mossies in chicken wire" , but I don't claim to actually know. I personally wear one as there is nothing to lose by doing so afaic.

SARS-CoV-2 strains range from 50nm (Nanometres, Billionth of a Metre) to 200nm across, 1/5th to 1/20th the size of a micron. So in effect anywhere from 50 to 1000 of them fit across the width of a human hair. So to a virus the holes in the P2 mask material are like a person walking through the front entrance at Bunnings, but it's more complex than that.................

We emit droplets which are basically sputum, each droplet is many tens of microns(~20um) if not hundreds of microns(~200um) across, think of a droplet about the width of a human hair. We emit dozens and dozens of droplets with every word we speak, each one can contain hundreds, thousands or even millions of virus. (There are 4.2 million cubic microns in a single 200um diameter droplet, each cubic micron can potentially hold a virus.)

Droplets are the most common form of virus transmission.

We also emit aerosols, these have a bit of a flexible definition but they are typically sub-micron (Smaller than one millionth of a Metre) in size, dozens or hundreds of aerosols fit across the width of a human hair. We emit thousands and thousands of aerosols with every word we speak or every breath we exhale.

It's not clear whether aerosols contribute much to virus transmission, undoubtedly they do to some degree.

To catch a virus you have to get the right does of virus in the right location. A droplet landing in your mouth probably doesn't have any effect, but an aerosol landing in your tear duct or lung probably can set off an infection.

The masks will help stop droplets containing virus, but they might not stop virus if it is in aerosol form.

But wait there is more,

Whether a mask catches virus depends on a number of things provided the mask is correctly constructed;
- If the mask is clean and dry, because virus are sticky they stick to clean dry surfaces if they come into contact.
  (So wear clean dry masks everyday.)
- If the mask has some static charge, virus will be trapped, this depends on the material used and the construction.
- If the mask has certain chemical properties the virus will be trapped, which depends on the material used.