‘Do We Really Still Need to Wear Masks Outside?’

Shannon Palus, writing for Slate:

In other words, as the pandemic has progressed, so has our understanding of what safety measures are truly most useful, and which aren’t worth the alcohol wipes. And I would like to calmly suggest that now is the time we should consider no longer wearing masks when we walk around outside.

I am not suggesting this simply because I am very sick of wearing a mask at all times outside my home. When it comes to coronavirus spread, evidence shows that being outdoors is very, very safe. […]

While it’s important to mask in outdoor crowds or if you’re hanging out close to someone in a park, Chagla explains, the main message should be that the outdoors is a safe place to be. He gave me a rough sense of how unlikely outdoor transmission is in the scenario where you’re walking unmasked on the sidewalk and briefly pass someone. First, you or the person you’re passing would have to happen to have an asymptomatic infection, he explained, and then everyone would have to be exhaling and inhaling at just the right moment, and also, exchanging enough particles to actually seed another infection: “You’re talking about a probability of getting hit by a car, and being struck by lightning.”

Is this too soon? I think scientifically, eschewing masks outdoors except for close conversations is perfectly safe. The evidence is overwhelming that COVID spreads almost entirely indoors, through the air. But socially, I’m not sure. Until overall infection rates start dropping as more people are vaccinated, there are social benefits to the “mask up” mantra.

★ Sunday, 18 April 2021