This blog is not intended as advice. It is for educational and research purposes only. Read this disclaimer first if you want to read this post.
The ABC is usually a trusted source of information, but on the topic of the Wuhan Coronavirus, it consistently misrepresents poor selection of face masks to give good protection. This has been happening for weeks and I could post dozens of examples.
In the article” Coronavirus has ruined thousands of holidays. Here’s how to plan your travel by consumer affairs reporter Liz Hobday on 27 Feb 2020
At least three photos appear in the article with people wearing face masks. I have annotated the images to show where contaminated air can be breathed in. The face masks are not designed to protect the wearer. If they were, they would also be stamped with the P2 designation (Australia) or N95 (US) and properly certified. There are many fake masks on the market today.
“A woman wearing a sanitary mask looks at her phone in Milan.
PHOTO: Face masks are becoming more popular in Italy’s north, where there have been several coronavirus-related deaths. (AP: Claudio Furlan/Lapresse)”
In the annotated picture above the face mask is a surgical type mask designed to protect patients, not the wearer. There is no engineered seal between the mask and infected air can easily pass in the gaps next to the nose or along the side of the face. The only protection the lady receives is from being distant from other people.
The next two (cropped) images are embedded in the article.
The people L and R have the wrong masks. Another give-away is that the masks are obviosly looped around the ears. I know of no proper P2 masks that use the ears – they all have two straps around the head. It is possible that the moan in the middle has a proper mask, but not certifications are visible and it does not appear to be well fitted.
Again, the masks are the wrong type. The man of the left has two masks. The second mask may help hold the first mask to the face better, but it is unlikely the seal to the face would be adequate. The extra air flow resistance produced by the second mask would make more air slow through the bad seal.
The inappropriate choice of face masks for all in this cropped picture – and poor fit (man of left, woman in center and left) was not noted by the ABC News
