dreampepper

I also love my silk Alexander McQueen scarf patterned with jewelled dragonflies and the soft goldenrod yellow split-snood and glove set I got last November from Target during my roadtrip, but the one thing I won't leave the house without is a KN95 mask from MaskLab, a Korean PPE company that pivoted during lockdown to selling medical-grade art-covered masks for civilians. 

• Mask wearing corresponded to a 19% decrease in the R(0) in one study. In other words, masks helped reduce transmission.
• In Bangladesh villages were randomized to be provided free masks. Villages that got the intervention had more than double the mask usage than villages that didn’t (13% vs. 42%). This resulted in a 9% reduction in cases in the mask-wearing villages. 
• In the U.S., a 10% increase in mask wearing was associated with greater control of transmission.
• In Germany, mask mandates reduced spread by 45%.
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These studies reflect vastly different settings and cultures and they show a huge range of impact. Every study has holes and flaws. That's just how science operates, by chipping at problems one opportunity and facet at a time. In the meantime, the main question, do masks keep you safer? The answer, unequivocally, is yes. Not by 100%, of course, but a measurable amount. So remember: it's the bare minimum, like wearing a seatbelt. Stay masked indoors.