Wuhan coronavirus

BREAKING
Coronavirus: 18-year-old 'youngest' to die in UK as fatalities rise by 48 to 281

An 18-year-old is understood to have become the youngest person to die in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-number-of-deaths-in-uk-rises-by-48-to-281-11962009
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/22/coronavirus-claims-britains-youngest-victim-18/
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/18-year-old-is-uks-youngest-coronavirus-victim-as-tragic-death-of-youngster-announced/ar-BB11xVov

All those young people should heed this .

Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973?query=featured_home

The aerosols generated for the experiments were <5um (micrometer)

Normal expelled sizes from human breathing/coughing etc are 0.6um to greater then 1000um (1mm)

Temperatures all maintained at 21-23 degrees centigrade (70-73F) 40% relative humidity for 7 days.

SARS-CoV-2 remained viable in aerosols for at least 3 hours (this means particles floating about in the air)

On plastic - Half-life 6.8 hours up to 72 hours I.e. (if a billion particles of SARS-CoV-2 landed on a plastic surface in 6.8 hours there would be 500,000,000 particles, in another 6.8 hours there would be 250,000,000 particles of SARS-CoV-2 and so on)

On stainless steel - half-life 5.6 hours up to 72 hours

On cardboard - Total life 24 hours

On copper - Total life 4 hours

This video explains:

This is something I posted on FB regarding masks.

About face masks...(read to the bottom for info about eyes)

N95 refers to the fact that it can filter 95% of 0.3um or greater particles. These are the type surgeons wear. In other words, there is a 95% chance they will filter >0.3um particles

They have to be correctly fitting to be effective. If you are breating in air from around the edge of a mask, it isn't working properly.

DIY type dust masks (without the breathing out exhaust thing) of N95 or better will work the same as medical N95 masks, provided they are properly fitting, which most are not.

Those with the exhaust type valve thing allow you to completely breathe out aerosol particulates! So if you are infected and wear one of those type masks, you are breathing your shit all over.

Wearing an N95 mask will help, but is not a definite barrier. They will help filter aerosols you breathe in and breathe out but will not stop 100% of particulates.

Respirator masks vary in their effectivemess. 3M (6000 series) only give specs (that I can find) on actual gases and substances, not particulate size. They state nothing about aerosol particles. 3M produce N95 masks that are similar to the DIY style masks, but not respitators from what I can find. In general respirator filters are layered with various mediums including charcoal etc in order to stop VOCs (volitile organic compounds) such as gasses. There is no indication these masks will stop particulate viruses.

A 3M 6000 series respirator is inconclusive.

So, if you DO NOT have COVID-19 then an N95 mask (with or without exhaust valve) when properly fitting will help filter particulates including up to 95% of coronavirus when in aerosol form and will help YOU from catching it.

If you DO have COVID-19 then wearing an N95 mask WITHOUT exhaust valve (properly fitting) will help to filter 95% of your exhaled infected breath and particulates. An N95 mask WITH an exhaust valve is useless and your breath and particulates will exhaust from the mask WITHOUT being filtered.

Now, the eyes.
Your eyes are equally supseptible to catching coronavirus, as is ANY mucus membrane in your body. The body's mucus membranes are the eyes, ears, inside the nose, inside the mouth, lip, vagina, the urethral opening and the anus. All of these are subseptible to catching the virus. You should protect your eyes mainly as well as your mouth and nose. Particlates in the air can land on your eyes. When speaking face to face with someone in close proximity there is a good chance that their breath particulates will touch your eyes unless they are protected.

And remember, once you use a mask, you should consider it to be contaminated with the virus on the outside of it, so dispose of it and do not touch the exterior of the mask. Respirators are usually made of plastic and the virus can last for up to 3 days on plastic! So if you do decide to wear a respirator make sure you COMPLETELY disinfect the respirator before wearing again.

In short, masks can help but are not guaranteed to stop coronavirus. They have their uses and when used correctly in certain circumstances they can really help, but are not 100% effective.

Some info from the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-and-surgical-masks-face-masks

Chilling coronavirus chart shows UK death rate is outpacing every country including Italy
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1258646/Coronavirus-chart-graph-death-rate-UK-Italy-lockdown-fears-latest

New York warns of major medical shortages in 10 days
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51998429

Germany tightens curbs and bans meetings of more than two
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51999080

'You are putting other people's lives at RISK': Boris Johnson hints he could ban ALL Britons from leaving their homes 'within the next 24 hours' if they don't keep 'absolutely crucial' six feet apart
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8140435/Boris-Johnson-threatens-total-lockdown-UK-24-hours-parks-open-spaces-closed.html

Rishi Sunak to announce cash bail-out for five million self-employed Britons facing coronavirus ruin - after promise to cover 80% of laid-off workers' incomes
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8140991/Rishi-Sunaks-multi-billion-pound-rescue-package-self-employed.html

WHO launches global megatrial of the four most promising coronavirus treatments
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/who-launches-global-megatrial-four-most-promising-coronavirus-treatments

Yeah I'd say a mask or anything improvised is way better than nothing. All the argument about fitting and particle sizes etc is just nitpicking. Most masks fit the face pretty well they squeeze on easily and provide a reasonable seal. And they will stop you breathing in any virus laden particles. Pretty simple if you ask me, there is so much argument about it elsewhere leading up to all this, it's just tiring.

If I was off to the shops with coughers and sneezers I'd much rather have a mask with a very slight amount of side leakage than none.

The dish towel looks pretty good for an improvised one.

I wonder how you could cut it and fit 2 elastic bands so it would work ok.

Madrid hospitals. Patients lying on floor in corridor
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8142013/Horrifying-images-coronavirus-patients-lying-floor-packed-Madrid-hospital.html