Masks can reduce the growth rate of corona virus infection by 40%, a paper on the impact of the staggered use of masks in public places in different cities and municipalities in Germany has found. After the city of Jena made it mandatory on April 6 to wear masks, new confirmed Covid-19 infections reduced by 25% compared to that in a group with similar demographics, local health care systems and pre-April Covid-19 levels, the analysis found. The findings were released on Friday. Depending on the region we analyse, we found that face Tube Mask reduced the cumulative number of registered Covid-19 cases between 2.3% and 13% over a period of 10 days after they became compulsory. Assessing the credibility of the various estimates, we conclude that face masks reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%, said the discussion paper by IZA Institute of Labor Economics in Bonn, Germany.
The long incubation period of the Covid-19 infection, among other factors, contribute to its spread, according to experts. Symptoms appear on average after four to five days of getting infected, according to a study published in March in The Annals of Internal Medicine. In this period, patients might not develop symptoms of cough, fever or difficulty in breathing, but can spread the infection. Several studies have also found that Covid-19 is also spread by those who have a very mild disease but do not show symptoms. A paper published in New England Journal of Medicine on Friday, which followed asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that saw an outbreak in February, found that the majority of asymptomatic cases did not develop symptoms at all throughout the course of the infection.
Doctors new corona virus threat: Patients who refuse to wear masks
The decision of some Americans to not wear a Custom Mask in public has become a political act, the latest demonstration of how misinformation is complicating the American response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As states reopen, enforcement of new mask requirements in public spaces has led to conflict: A Target employee in California broke his arm after trying to remove two customers refusing to wear masks. In Flint, Michigan, a security guard at a Family Dollar store was shot and killed after a dispute with a disgruntled customer over wearing a face mask.
Now, these kinds of confrontations are also happening in medical clinics and hospitals, endangering health care staff. A urologist in Florida, who requested anonymity because of fear of losing his job, tells Vox he had his first patient refuse to wear a mask on May 13. The doctor works at a private clinic, which recently instituted a policy requiring all patients to wear a mask while in the building to minimize transmission of the virus. The patient was given a mask at the front desk but refused to put it on. The nurse asked him to put his mask on if he wanted to be seen, the urologist said. He got verbally aggressive with her, saying he had a right not to wear a mask, and that we were denying his constitutional rights. The clinic manager was summoned to speak with the patient and explained that the mask was to protect both him and the medical staff. He continued to refuse, so the administration asked him to leave.
Conclusion
But medical professionals interviewed by Vox in three states say health care workers are at times being put at risk by people refusing to wear masks in health care facilities. This rejection of a public health measure only adds to the threats to front-line health care workers, who remain at higher risk of Covid-19 infection, especially in the continued shortage of protective gear, like masks, gloves, and surgical gowns.