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Scientists persist and sign: Why it’s still early to drop your mask!


Scientists persist and sign: Why it's still early to drop your mask!

At the time of deconfinement, a relaxation is felt with certain citizens as for the wearing of the mask.

“The Moroccans have on the whole shown a lot of discipline and selflessness during the confinement, thus allowing the control of the epidemic”, underlines Kahdija Moussayer. The president of the Moroccan Association of Autoimmune and Systemic Diseases (AMMAIS) and specialist in internal medicine adds that it is important not to weaken now. Indeed, it warns of the dangers of a relaxation in the use of masks, understandable psychologically but dangerous. She refers in this to a recent study by the American Academy of Sciences emphasizing the dangers of the progressive abandonment of the mask in public space. In Morocco, Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister of Health, had reminded (June 27 in a press release on the general situation in Morocco) of strict compliance with the preventive measures recommended by the health authorities. Among these measures, the correct wearing of a mask, hygiene, respect for physical distance and avoidance of gatherings.

The mask, an inexpensive but essential means
To conduct their study, scientists from the Universities of Texas and California analyzed the trend and the mitigation measures (wearing a mask, distance …) in Wuhan, China, Italy and New York, from January 23 to 9 May 2020. “They were thus able to show that the impacts of these mitigation measures are measurable in the evolution of the pandemic. The analysis thus reveals that the difference with and without compulsory face covering represents the main determinant of the epidemic in the three epicenters. According to them alone, this protective measure has considerably reduced the number of infections: more than 78,000 in Italy from April 6 to May 9 and more than 66,000 in New York from April 17 to May 9, “said the specialist. . According to these researchers, other mitigation measures such as social distancing are not enough to protect the public. “We conclude that wearing masks in public is the most effective way to prevent human-to-human transmission, and this inexpensive practice, in conjunction with simultaneous social isolation, quarantine and contact tracing, represents the opportunity to most likely fight to stop the pandemic, “said the expert.

A cough is 3,000 droplets
It turns out that the aerosolized and airborne diffusion of the coronavirus constitutes the major route of propagation. In this sense, the work carried out confirms the effectiveness of wearing a mask, reaffirming its necessity in the months following deconfinement and this while awaiting vaccines and / or treatments against infection. “They clearly show that the mask is not only useful for preventing the droplets of infected cough from reaching uninfected people, but also for avoiding breathing in these tiny aerosolized particles which can also contaminate”, explains Khadija Moussayer, recalling also a single cough can produce up to 3,000 droplets, the most dangerous elements that can spread on clothes and on the surfaces around them. For the specialist, “all these data, which are clearly known now as well as certain precautionary and preventive measures, have unfortunately been lacking in many countries of the world, notably Europeans, which have often affirmed the opposite in terms of wearing a mask and have paid a high price in terms of excess mortality, however avoidable! ”. In addition, the Chinese who have been wearing masks for years, mainly due to pollution (as well as the four Asian “dragons” – Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore), on the other hand, did a good job of controlling the epidemic. by compulsory wearing of the mask from the start, accompanying a global strategy of massive screening, very strict quarantines and follow-up on a case-by-case basis using digital tools.

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