Covid 19 Part XXI-27,908 in ROI (1,777 deaths) 6,647 in NI (559 deaths)(22/08)Read OP

Wanderer78 wrote: »

yea im seriously fearing the school situation

ACitizenErased wrote: »

RE: The Creche, seem to be more asymptomatic cases.
Either the virus has weakened or we're picking up way more asymptomatic cases than before. The meat factories had loads of 'em aswell.

We use the synthetic control method to analyze the effect of face masks on the spread of Covid-19 in Germany. Our identification approach exploits regional variation in the point in time when face masks became compulsory. Depending on the region we analyse, we find that face masks reduced the cumulative number of registered Covid-19 cases between 2.3% and 13% over a period of 10 days after they became compulsory. Assessing the credibility of the various estimates, we conclude that face masks reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%.

There is increasing evidence showing the effect of face masks for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. In
a recent systematic review, Chu et al. determined that on average there was more than a five-fold reduction of
the transmission risk, from 17.4% with no face mask to 3.1% with a face mask (e.g. N95, surgical, or 12-16
layer cotton mask) [55]. In healthcare settings, stronger positive associations have been found with the use of
FFP2 respirators than with the use of medical masks or similar. In addition, several other studies on the use of
either medical or non-medical face masks in the community have provided evidence on the efficacy of this
measure at individual [60-62] and population level [63,64]. The evidence shows that wearing masks is not only
effective in reducing the spread of the virus through respiratory secretions (source control), but also in protecting
the individuals that wear them correctly from contracting COVID-19.
Based on the available evidence, implementing the use of face masks in the community when physical distancing
cannot be guaranteed should be strongly considered, both indoors (e.g. supermarkets, shops and public
transport) and in overcrowded outdoor situations, in areas with increased incidence of COVID-19.
The key to the effectiveness of using face masks in the community is good compliance [65], and proper and
rational recommendations (unnecessary in non-crowded, well-ventilated open spaces), which can be improved by
means of appropriate risk communication methods. Concerns that mandatory face mask usage would generate a
false sense of security that could decrease adherence to other types of protective behaviour, such as physical
distancing, have been shown to be unfounded in several studies [67,68]. The decision to issue a strong national
recommendation or make the use of face masks mandatory in community settings should take into account the
local context, the availability of face masks for the public (which should not compromise the availability of face
masks for health and social care workers), the socio-political situation and resources available to monitor the
implementation of any mandatory measure.
Nevertheless, the use of masks in the community should not be considered as the main single cover-all measure,
but should be combined with other essential measures, particularly respiratory etiquette. Recently Hong Kong,
which has a long-standing mask-wearing culture, faced a second wave of COVID-19 infection attributed to
increased contact between persons, importations and limited capacity to isolate confirmed cases [69].

JazzyJ wrote: »

Are the cases asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic though? They may be asymptomatic at the time of testing but unfortunately we don't really get the follow up information on how people's condition progresses a number of days later.

froog wrote: »

I'm not up to speed with the creche story, but the meat factories they are doin blanket testing in them so you will pick up a lot of asymptomatic cases. Not sure theres any evidence of it weakening just yet, there was always speculated to be a large amount of asymptomatic cases.