Facemasks and Social Distancing
Zach Zachariah, Ph. D., M.B.A., Associate Professor Emeritus, Ohio University
May 15, 2020

On Monday April 27th, when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine rolled out Phase 1 of his plan to reopen businesses, he said, “no mask, no work, no service, no exception.”  The next day, DeWine who required facemasks for everyone, reversed his decision by making it mandatory for employees only and not for customers. He said, "We heard from a lot of different people who felt that 'I may wear a mask, but the government should not be telling me what to do.'”  I wish he had not reversed his decision.

Surgical masks and other face coverings do not offer full protection against a heavy load of Coronavirus.  However, they will prevent aerosol droplets released when a person sneezes, coughs or even talks loud from spreading to the surroundings.  Coronaviruses are denser than other pathogens and they drop to the ground within six feet, a distance considered safe to be away from the next person. Assuming that most store-goers do not sneeze or cough, there is only a slight chance that a person who does not cover the face may breathe viruses from the air, if a safe distance is maintained. Coronaviruses stay on hard surfaces for several hours. That is the reason why stores are thoroughly cleaned and carts, checkout counters and conveyer belts are frequently wiped down. It is still possible that one will touch surfaces that may have virus droplets.  When we touch our nose and face with our hands, the virus can enter the body. The advantage of having a facemask is mainly to protect you from the virus rather than protect fellow customers from you.

During the time the stay-at-home order was in place, I noticed about 90% of the shoppers covered their face.  Two days ago, I went to Walmart at a less busy time and counted eight people in the 20-50 age group without any face covering.  This is about 30-35% of the shoppers I encountered.  It is quite possible that some of them have touched their face or nose with their hands.  What if one or two of them touched a surface that harbored Coronavirus from an asymptomatic person. These people would be going home to an elderly relative or someone with an underlying condition. Such a behavior is enough for the disease to spread in the community.

Later that day I watched on YouTube, a clip of the PBS program, Amanpour & Co in which  Hari Sreenivasan interviews Dr.  F. Perry Wilson, a researcher from the Yale University School of Medicine. The video can be viewed by clicking here[1]. 

Dr. Wilson Interview on PBS

Even if you are unable to watch the whole video, watch at least the last two minutes beginning at about 15:30 minutes.  This is a synopsis of the doctor’s message:

• Americans cherish individual liberty and do not like to be told what to do.
• They have embraced shared sacrifice during times of war.
• Wearing a mask and keeping a safe distance in public are behavioral changes that everyone should be able to make.
• Leaders must lead by example. Challenge the people to be patriotic and tell them that ‘we need to work together to save this country from this pandemic.’  President Trump has declared that he will not wear a facemask.  Many state governors and mayors have been seen wearing masks.  If these leaders will demonstrate by example and talk about shared sacrifices, then people will come together.

The doctor also explained how misinformation related to medical research is carried on air and on social media.  In the four months since the pandemic, so much data has been collected.  Pre-prints of several studies have been published without adequate peer review.  Data can be interpreted in multiple ways.  What media initially reports is usually one interpretation of the data by a set of researchers. When other experts look at the published data, they may come up with an alternate interpretation.  Further research may even disprove the findings. These new results may not even be publicized.

In another segment, Dr. Wilson talks about the rate of false positive results from the antibody tests on a limited number of persons, which when adjusted for the population may be as high as one third. Since it is not feasible to administer the PCR test for the entire population, the most viable option, in the absence of treatment and vaccination, is for the CDC and other public health agencies to test a representative sample of the population using “Seroprevalence Surveys.”[2]

A Raleigh, North Carolina native hired an airplane to display this message over the city, which I thought was poignant:

“Fewer graves if we reopen in waves.”

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[1] Dr. Wilson Interview on PBS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8EBHXrum-M
[2] Seroprevalance Surveys, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1580051/