Why Masks Work BETTER Than You'd Think

Thanks to the Heising-Simons foundation for their support: https://www.hsfoundation.org (their COVID-19 grants: https://www.hsfoundation.org/grants/covid-19-response-grants/ )
Check out https://aatishb.com/maskmath to explore and for references.

This video is about how masks (whether surgical, or N95, or cloth) are counterintuitive and actually work much better epidemiologically than one might expect. Masks do double-duty, and the fraction of interactions with masks is much higher than the fraction of people wearing masks, so partially adopted, partially effective masks are able to reduce the basic reproduction number surprisingly well.

REFERENCES:

Aatish’s detailed writeup on github: https://github.com/aatishb/maskmath/blob/master/model/mathmodel.ipynb

Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, a Regimen for Re-entry: https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/amid-the-coronavirus-crisis-a-regimen-for-reentry

Face Masks Against COVID-19: An Evidence Review https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v3

Mask FAQ Test Results: https://www.maskfaq.com/test-results

The Effect of Mask Use on the Spread of Influenza During a Pandemic: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01428.x

Calibrated Intervention and Containment of the COVID-19 Pandemic: https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2003/2003.07353.pdf

Cloth Mask Breathability and Filtration Efficiency Technical Report: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e8126f89327941b9453eeef/t/5f2c4463a5c9f75a38d2b26f/1596736614213/N95DECON_cloth_mask_breathability_filtrationtechnical_report_v1_200804.pdf

What kind of mask should I be wearing to protect against COVID-19? http://built-envi.com/what-kind-of-mask-should-i-be-wearing-to-protect-against-covid-19/

Masks for all? The science says yes. https://www.fast.ai/2020/04/13/masks-summary/

The Real Reason to Wear a Mask: https://medium.com/the-atlantic/the-real-reason-to-wear-a-mask-e6405abbc484

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