The study I want to see

Yesterday I went into a sub shop. There were five people behind the counter and they needed every one of them to keep up with the demand of even a 50% occupancy restaurant. Obviously they could not social distance the recommended six feet but four of the five employees had masks. I say had masks rather than wore masks. One, the middle aged African American manager did not even have one hanging around his neck. Three of the teen-age or early twenty employees had black cloth masks which covered their chins. They were the not even the now popular 'everything but the nose' fashion statement,  these three were in a state of full-fledged strip down to the neck mask nudity. The fifth employee, a young man another teen, was fully CDC compliant. He was covered (except his eyes), a true black cloth wearing citizen of the state.

This all got me thinking again about masks in the current "crisis," God I hate when that happens, but it did, I went and thought about masks. What I was thinking, was not about the irresponsibility of the non mask compliant foursome but rather the single compliant youth. Because I look at things backwards my thought was, is the poor kid at risk by studiously and most would consider responsibly wearing his mask? 

In our new masked society  the reason we are being "asked" to wear masks is NOT to protect ourselves from others, but rather to protect others from ourselves. If it was meant to protect ourselves we would need to wear respirators or at minimum N-95 masks which would protect me, but not you. That is why I find it so sad to see all the older people, the ones truly in danger, out dutifully wearing their masks as if it was protection, it really is not, though I doubt most realize this.

Enough sadness back to those people behind the counter not wearing masks, are they a threat? Like most such places there is a "sneeze screen" between them and us. In addition, like most such places, it is set up so you cannot get within six feet of the people behind the counter. But what about the food?

Currently, there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food. Before preparing or eating food it is important to always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds for general food safety.

So the people not wearing their masks were no more likely to infect their customers than the young man wearing the mask, though they could be a threat to each other of course. But my thought was what if one of them was infected. Odds are, and I do mean odds are, that the four youngsters and probably the manager, he looked pretty fit, would only be mildly affected if they were infected. They might not even know they were infected. Any one or all of them could be asymptomatic or have such mild symptoms, perhaps an occasional  sniffle or scratchy throat that they simply ignored it. A young healthy person might easily just write it off as being from this new experience of wearing a mask hours on end...well sometimes.

But what about the masketeer guy? What if he was positive for Covid-19 hidden behind his black mask worn tightly over his mouth and nose. I am no doctor, obvious isn't it, but it is my understanding that Covid-19 is a respiratory virus. In short it affects how you breathe and how much oxygen you are getting.

An aside here;

The other day Nick Watney the PGA golfer withdrew from the Heritage Tournament here in South Carolina because he tested positive for the virus. The Tour and the media put out that he noticed "symptoms" and contacted officials, was given a test and he tested positive. He then withdrew from the tournament. What was his symptom? As it turns out the symptom was nothing physical, at least that he felt.

PGA Tour golfer Nick Watney said it was his wearable fitness tracker that first alerted him that he may have coronavirus.
Watney has worn his Whoop fitness tracker for more than a year now. On a Friday morning before the RBC Heritage event, he noticed his respiratory rate had spiked from Whoop’s app. Despite not feeling any of the physical symptoms associated with Covid-19, Watney decided to get tested.

By the way almost all professional athletes wear those devises. In fact the respiratory spike that Watney noticed was from the night before while he slept, it was unusual so he got tested.

Back to our masketeer  in the sub shop, chances are pretty good he does not wear a highly sophisticated health monitoring device, but he does wear his totally unsophisticated cloth mask. You want to know one thing that WHO and CDC say NOT to do in a mask? Exercise. Why? "Masks may reduce the ability to breathe comfortably" and "Sweat can make the mask become wet more quickly which makes it difficult to breathe and promotes the growth of microorganisms."

Now I know it is just me, but it just seems to me that wearing a device that reduces one's ability to breath and if not properly maintained will bread microorganisms is not all too wise when dealing with a respiratory illness. Remember  the purpose of wearing the mask is to protect them from you, which means its to be worn in case you are infected. 

My question is; What are the affects to the infected individual of wearing a mask? Since the vast majority of people wearing masks, improperly and without proper hygienic care, are wearing non-surgical cloth masks, what health issues is this creating? Not only for those wearing them that are infected but those who are not. Look around you, everywhere you look people are wearing masks, usually improperly, are they washing them? Daily? If they are wearing surgical mask are they replacing them regularly? A surgical mask in a non-sterile environment becomes contaminated very quickly and you are walking around with what ever you not only breathed out on the inside of your mask but whatever you breathed in on the outside of the mask. In short are the masks themselves becoming carriers of the very virus they are meant to protect us from, or other hazards? The outside world is not a hospital and you are probably not a healthcare professional. 

Does grandma know the mask she is wearing is not protecting her? The young masketeer in the sub shop, with all his good intentions or because he follows the rules even his boss does not, probably does not know how to wear or take care of his mask so that it does not become a breading ground for germs that may seriously harm him, do you? 

The entire mask epidemic is ripe for unintended consequences. Prior to this current Covid-19 "crisis", numerous studies were done to determine the contamination of masks worn by hospital workers so they could be properly used and disposed of so as not to infect others with germs picked up in the sterile environment of a hospital. Do we honestly believe that American society is even remotely able to comprehend, less alone adhere to protocols intended for trained professionals? 

What are the consequences to society of all this mask wearing? That is the study I want done. I guess we are already doing it.