I am hoping that the world will have a handle on the latest outbreak.

growstuff

BlueBelle

The Chinese constantly wear masks long before Covid gave us any problems I m sure it’s a cat and mouse game wear masks to stop catching something but if you never catch anything you never have any immunity

You seem to be saying that people become immune by catching a virus.

I'm puzzled by this because it means that people still catch it, but at a different time. Why is that any better? They still catch it!

Apparently Covid immunity, whether from having the disease or from vaccination, is quite short lived. And many people do still catch it but have a less serious illness.

growstuff

Callistemon I'm not sure anybody knows:

www.newscientist.com/article/2404643-pneumonia-in-china-everything-we-know-so-far-about-mystery-illness/

I've only skimmed it, but the report says that the pneumonia is probably the type caused by bacteria, some cases possibly by the rarer one I mentioned, mycoplasma.
These types can be treated by antibiotics, unlike viral infections.

It's still a mystery, though.

I agree with Bluebell. Chinese wore masks long before Covid as do Japanese. Soon as cold symptoms appear they put masks on to prevent spreading.

M0nica our staff have to attend training on how to fit and wear masks by the same people that were going into hospitals and fitting masks and training the staff how to wear and when to change filters on the Covid wards.

An ill fitting mask, or even some home made fabric ones are not effective in any way shape or form.

growstuff I have combed through evrything I have written on this thread and nowhere in them can I find anywhere where I have described masks as 'useless'

What I said was that 'caution must be exercised' over their effectivenees, which given how carelssly so many people wear masks seems to me to be a reasonable thing to say.

growstuff our SME is far more than a builders merchant

I posted at the outset of Covid that we were sourcing and supplying masks and PPE to health workers etc.

Callistemon I'm not sure anybody knows:

www.newscientist.com/article/2404643-pneumonia-in-china-everything-we-know-so-far-about-mystery-illness/

maddyone

Jaxjacky

We had a winter surge of strep throats and RSV in children after mask wearing reduced. China only stopped their mandatory mask wearing in April this year.

This may well be very relevant.

Yes, and this may be relevant. There were high incidences of RSV in New Zealand during the pandemic.
It can lead to bronchiolitis in very young children and is quite common.

growstuff

RosiesMaw

growstuff

Freya5

Pneumonia is mostly spread when people infected, cough ,sneeze or talk, you know the usual method of spreading bacteria, which is a common cause. Children are very susceptible due to their close proximity to each other in schools. The WHO terrifies me, with their draconian lock everyone up that most ountries, including ours, have stupidly signed up to. Or have China been meddling with things they shouldn't.

Sorry, but why are you writing about pneumonia?

Because of this from OP

Reports of hundreds of children hospitalised in China from a serious type of pneumonia . It started in the north and is spreading south.

OK! Thanks for pointing that out.

There are different types of pneumonia, bacterial, viral and fungal. There is a type known as mycoplasma pneumonia which is also caused by a bacterium.

Is this one spreading through China a viral pneumonia, do we know?

GrannyGravy13

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

As someone who has been buying and selling protective clothing including many makes/specifications of masks I can confirm that a mask worn incorrectly and/or of the wrong specification for the job/infection involved is as much use as a chocolate teapot.

The kind of masks which protect construction workers aren't designed to stop the wearer from transmitting minute particles.

growstuff you have no idea who/what companies we deal with, what they need protection from etc., etc.,

Feel free to inform me of my business which I know inside out…

My understanding that it is a builders' merchant. Builders need protection from dust and chemicals, etc. They do not need to protect buildings from their own diseases.

M0nica

People getting too close, not obeying hgiene rules and risking mixing with people when they potentially have viral infections.

It would include you growstuff because you are unaware of the dangers of people, wearing masks but not effectively.

How insulting!

No, it wouldn't include me because I'm very much aware how Covid (and other viruses) are transmitted. I have functioning eyes and can see when people aren't wearing masks correctly and are too close to me. I'm also aware of the dangers of aerosol transmission and won't go into a crowded, enclosed space.

None of the above means that wearing a mask is useless. If I were to know that infection rates in my area were high, I would most definitely wear a mask and keep away from areas where transmission rates are likely to be high.

PS. I wore FFP2 masks throughout the pandemic and still haven't caught Covid.

People getting too close, not obeying hgiene rules and risking mixing with people when they potentially have viral infections.

It would include you growstuff because you are unaware of the dangers of people, wearing masks but not effectively.

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

As someone who has been buying and selling protective clothing including many makes/specifications of masks I can confirm that a mask worn incorrectly and/or of the wrong specification for the job/infection involved is as much use as a chocolate teapot.

The kind of masks which protect construction workers aren't designed to stop the wearer from transmitting minute particles.

growstuff you have no idea who/what companies we deal with, what they need protection from etc., etc.,

Feel free to inform me of my business which I know inside out…

RosiesMaw

growstuff

Freya5

Pneumonia is mostly spread when people infected, cough ,sneeze or talk, you know the usual method of spreading bacteria, which is a common cause. Children are very susceptible due to their close proximity to each other in schools. The WHO terrifies me, with their draconian lock everyone up that most ountries, including ours, have stupidly signed up to. Or have China been meddling with things they shouldn't.

Sorry, but why are you writing about pneumonia?

Because of this from OP

Reports of hundreds of children hospitalised in China from a serious type of pneumonia . It started in the north and is spreading south.

OK! Thanks for pointing that out.

M0nica

Wearing a mask includes how it is worn and if generally people people are not wearing masks properly, and from my observed experience over the last three years, is that most people are not wearing masks properly, mainly the problem is a lack of air tightness around the edges of the mask between mask and person then there proabably more dangerous being worn thsn unworn as they engender a false state if security.

So what kind of behaviour does wearing a mask encourage as a result of this alleged false sense of security?

growstuff

Freya5

Pneumonia is mostly spread when people infected, cough ,sneeze or talk, you know the usual method of spreading bacteria, which is a common cause. Children are very susceptible due to their close proximity to each other in schools. The WHO terrifies me, with their draconian lock everyone up that most ountries, including ours, have stupidly signed up to. Or have China been meddling with things they shouldn't.

Sorry, but why are you writing about pneumonia?

Because of this from OP

Reports of hundreds of children hospitalised in China from a serious type of pneumonia . It started in the north and is spreading south.

GrannyGravy13

As someone who has been buying and selling protective clothing including many makes/specifications of masks I can confirm that a mask worn incorrectly and/or of the wrong specification for the job/infection involved is as much use as a chocolate teapot.

The kind of masks which protect construction workers aren't designed to stop the wearer from transmitting minute particles.

Freya5

Pneumonia is mostly spread when people infected, cough ,sneeze or talk, you know the usual method of spreading bacteria, which is a common cause. Children are very susceptible due to their close proximity to each other in schools. The WHO terrifies me, with their draconian lock everyone up that most ountries, including ours, have stupidly signed up to. Or have China been meddling with things they shouldn't.

Sorry, but why are you writing about pneumonia?

Freya5

Pneumonia is mostly spread when people infected, cough ,sneeze or talk, you know the usual method of spreading bacteria, which is a common cause. Children are very susceptible due to their close proximity to each other in schools. The WHO terrifies me, with their draconian lock everyone up that most ountries, including ours, have stupidly signed up to. Or have China been meddling with things they shouldn't.

The WHO aren’t draconian. If they were they might have labelled the pandemic as a pandemic ages before they did would have done something to stop it spreading outside of China. Useless, yes but not draconian.

Oops missed out for over 40 years

As someone who has been buying and selling protective clothing including many makes/specifications of masks I can confirm that a mask worn incorrectly and/or of the wrong specification for the job/infection involved is as much use as a chocolate teapot.

M0nica

Wearing a mask includes how it is worn and if generally people people are not wearing masks properly, and from my observed experience over the last three years, is that most people are not wearing masks properly, mainly the problem is a lack of air tightness around the edges of the mask between mask and person then there proabably more dangerous being worn thsn unworn as they engender a false state if security.

As we're a year or so into a false sense of security right now, with people dropping like flies with covid19, and serial reinfections with covid19, I find that somewhat ironic.

However, the fact that they aren't used properly doesn't in any way invalidate the fact that properly fitted, correct specification, masks prevent infection by aerosols. Your first assertion that masks don't work was wrong.

Wearing a mask includes how it is worn and if generally people people are not wearing masks properly, and from my observed experience over the last three years, is that most people are not wearing masks properly, mainly the problem is a lack of air tightness around the edges of the mask between mask and person then there proabably more dangerous being worn thsn unworn as they engender a false state if security.

Pneumonia is mostly spread when people infected, cough ,sneeze or talk, you know the usual method of spreading bacteria, which is a common cause. Children are very susceptible due to their close proximity to each other in schools. The WHO terrifies me, with their draconian lock everyone up that most ountries, including ours, have stupidly signed up to. Or have China been meddling with things they shouldn't.

Maizie That is exactly what Germany did. Masks had to be FFP2 quality. Only children were allowed to wear non-FFP2 masks.