
Promoting simple DIY masks for Covid-19: an evidence-based call to action - msamwald
https://medium.com/@matthiassamwald/promoting-simple-do-it-yourself-masks-an-urgent-intervention-for-covid-19-mitigation-14da4100f429
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msamwald
This also resonates with recent sentiment that telling people that "masks
don't work" (with the intention of keeping people from buying masks when they
are scarce even for health care workers) can backfire significantly:

[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/opinion/coronavirus-
face-...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/opinion/coronavirus-face-
masks.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage)

The major reason why masks are not promoted on a wide scale is because there
simply are not enough masks right now. Simple DIY masks are not perfect, but
certainly better than the current state of hardly any use of masks in public
at all.

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msamwald
Abstract: "We demonstrate that widespread use of masks by the general
population could be an effective strategy for slowing down the spread of
COVID-19. Since surgical masks might not become available in sufficient
numbers quickly enough for general use and sufficient compliance with wearing
surgical masks might not be possible everywhere, we argue that simple do-it-
yourself designs or commercially available cloth masks could reduce the spread
of infection at minimal costs to society."

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haunter
And there are sites like Wirecutter that a lot of people hold in high regard
and pushing the don't use mask message

[https://thewirecutter.com/blog/face-mask-for-
coronavirus/](https://thewirecutter.com/blog/face-mask-for-coronavirus/)

