{"id":360093,"date":"2021-10-29T23:42:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T20:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca\/"},"modified":"2021-10-29T23:42:21","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T20:42:21","slug":"the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"#The plexiglass barrier problem &#8211; Macleans.ca"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d52320e328\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d52320e328\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca\/#First_the_science\" >First, the science.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca\/#Whats_not_working\" >What\u2019s not working<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca\/#What_does_work\" >What does work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem-macleans-ca\/#A_sunk_cost_fallacy\" >A sunk cost fallacy<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#The plexiglass barrier problem &#8211; Macleans.ca<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                                                                        You open the door and prepare to step outside when a pang of guilt hits, as though leaving the house is an act of transgression in and of itself.<\/p>\n<p>You go to the grocery store: One employee in a face shield gestures towards a jug of hand sanitizer, while another at the cash register furiously wipes down the conveyor belt. You grip onto the shopping cart, still slimy from the disinfectant, and follow the peeling arrows taped to the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Later, you head to the gym: Half the machines are still out of commission, covered in signs that say: CLOSED, TO ENABLE <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SOCIAL<\/a> DISTANCING. A similar sign hangs on the water fountain, same for half the lockers in the locker room. The hairdryers are gone, ostensibly for the same reason.<\/p>\n<p>You take the bus to meet some friends for lunch: You pick the rare seat that isn\u2019t taped off TO ENABLE SOCIAL DISTANCING. You settle at a table, peering through the plexiglass barriers which surround you, waiting for your friend to walk through the doors. Off in the corner, a karaoke machine looks covered in cobwebs, memory of a bygone era. Your favourite song comes on: It\u2019s <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> song. The beat moves you and you stand up to start moving your hips. A kindly manager beelines to your seat, putting a firm hand on your shoulder and forcing you back into your seat. No dancing.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ:\u00a0First it took his mom. Then his dad. Then, finally, him. The story of a family stolen by COVID-19.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Your doctor still isn\u2019t seeing patients in-person. You need to make a reservation to renew your passport. Every time you touch a pen at the bank, the cashier throws it in the nearest garbage. Leaving the country can mean no fewer than three nasal swabs: Tests that make you $200 poorer. Your hands have been dry and cracking for a year-and-a-half.<\/p>\n<p>Some, or all of it, probably sounds exhaustingly familiar. Daily life in the late pandemic is made up of a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of rituals that once felt comforting, but which now feel rote \u2014 maybe even downright absurd.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s well past time that our governments and public health officers start navigating a way out of this pandemic with policies and advice to the public that actually follow the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>, instead of relying on superstition.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_the_science\"><\/span>First, the science.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It took some time, but we now know \u2014 and have known for a while, with a really high degree of certainty \u2014 that COVID-19 is predominantly transmitted through aerosolized particles.<\/p>\n<p>We, of course, initially believed that the virus was transmitted mostly, if not exclusively, via droplets. We were told that the main risks came from catching those droplets in our mouth or nose, or by fomite transmission: Touching the same surface as a sick person and transferring the droplets to our respiratory system. That initial belief was well-intentioned, but mistaken.<br \/>A pile of research has shown that surface transmission is somewhere between unlikely to near impossible. A recent study in hamsters found COVID-19 was <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news-events\/news-releases\/nih-hamster-study-evaluates-airborne-fomite-transmission-sars-cov-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">significantly less infectious and serious <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when passed-on by touching surfaces. Last August, microbiologist Emanuel Goldman reviewed the available literature and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7333993\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concluded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that \u201cthe chance of transmission through inanimate surfaces is very small, and only in instances where an infected person coughs or sneezes on the surface, and someone else touches that surface soon after the cough or sneeze.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coming around to this error meant we could stop sanitizing our groceries and wiping down letters \u2014 most of us did, anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We actually know why such a mistake was made: It involves a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/the-teeny-tiny-scientific-screwup-that-helped-covid-kill\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">half-century-old math error <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that told epidemiologists COVID-19 was too big to float through the air. Correcting that error meant realizing that the virus particles don\u2019t fall as soon as they leave our mouth or nose, but they can in fact float and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> some distances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ:\u00a0Typical \u2018vaccine hesitant\u2019 person is a 42-year-old Ontario woman who votes Liberal: Abacus polling<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s a reality that some governments and public health figures in Canada have been loath to acknowledge, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as I wrote with some frustration last April.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Things have only gotten marginally better since. The Public Health Agency of Canada now recognizes that COVID-19 is transmitted \u201cthrough respiratory droplets and aerosols,\u201d and recommends good ventilation in indoor settings. But, at the same time, the agency says the virus can also be passed by \u201ctouching something that has the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose or eyes with unwashed hands.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is overwhelming evidence that airborne transmission is the dominant cause for COVID-19 outbreaks. We still don\u2019t know how often people get sick from touching their eyes: All we know is that it is orders of magnitude less likely than contracting it through the air. Putting both explanations side-by-side gives the completely incorrect perception that they are equally likely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But look through the Public Health Agency of Canada\u2019s <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/diseases\/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection\/health-professionals\/public-health-measures-mitigate-covid-19.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">advice for Canadians to beat the virus<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and it\u2019s totally divorced from that reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guidance recommends that \u201chigh-touch surfaces and objects such as toilets, bedside tables, light switches, door handles, and children\u2019s toys should be first cleaned (to physically remove dirt) and then disinfected frequently.\u201d Which is about as an effective use of your time as nailing a horseshoe over your door frame.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That advice also conjures fear about public busses and subways, warning that \u201ccertain populations are more likely to rely on public transportation and therefore may have increased risk of exposure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No country has established any considerable link between public transit and COVID-19 transmission. France has meticulously tracked outbreaks, and has consistently found <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-06-09\/japan-and-france-find-public-transit-seems-safe\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">none<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tied to its beloved transit system. A Public Health Ontario <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.publichealthontario.ca\/-\/media\/documents\/ncov\/covid-wwksf\/2020\/12\/what-we-know-covid-public-transport.pdf?la=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meta-analysis <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the available research found a handful of studies, mostly from early in the pandemic, found no clear evidence that public transportation was responsible for a significant spread of COVID-19. One particularly interesting case saw a third of the riders on one bus in Zhejiang province, China, test positive for COVID-19 \u2014 but proximity to the person likely responsible for the outbreak only corresponded to a slightly higher risk of contracting the virus. That means the culprit was likely the recirculating air on the bus, not because it wasn\u2019t scrubbed enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More recently, the Public Health Agency has put out a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/diseases\/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection\/guidance-documents\/guide-indoor-ventilation-covid-19-pandemic.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guidance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on indoor filtration which, crucially, includes a recommendation for HEPA filters \u2014 simple, cheap filters which can be deployed in large buildings, or in your home and which we know <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-02669-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">actually captures COVID-19 particles in the air<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But the confusion still reigns: Are Canadians supposed to infer that air filtration is more, or less, important than scrubbing your kid\u2019s teddybear with bleach?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was chatting, recently, with someone inside the government on the COVID-19 file. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why not drop all this nonsense about surface transmission?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I asked. They sighed, explaining the attitude inside government: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Going harder on the reality of airborne transmission would mean acknowledging that the incessant reminders around handwashing and face-touching \u2014 while relatively good advice in a normal flu season \u2014 were ineffective in fighting this pandemic. People will feel lied to. Trust will plummet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_not_working\"><\/span>What\u2019s not working<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government regulation and funding continues to disproportionately back these unscientific solutions to the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I asked the Government of Canada how much support they allocated to actually funding good ventilation, Infrastructure Canada pointed to a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/office-infrastructure\/news\/2021\/04\/government-of-canada-investing-an-additional-150-million-in-better-ventilation-for-schools-hospitals-and-other-public-buildings.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$150 million<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> pot of money, announced in April, to install new ventilation systems in hospitals, schools, public buildings, and in First Nations communities. That\u2019s good! But the Government of Canada has spent more than <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/business\/distillers-hand-sanitizer-pandemic-1.5813509\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">twice as much on hand sanitizer.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> CBC found Ottawa spent nearly $1 billion <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/tracking-unprecedented-federal-coronavirus-spending-1.5827045\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">per day<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> throughout the pandemic. Every level of government should have prioritized better airflow and improved filtration more than a year ago. They didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The massive spending on PPE, to the tune of some $6 billion, came after Canada was woefully ill-equipped in crucial masks, gowns, and other gear necessary for health care and frontline workers. Since then, however, PPE requirements have remained essentially constant \u2014 COVID-19 patients in hospitals are still being put in <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/diseases\/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection\/health-professionals\/infection-prevention-control-covid-19-second-interim-guidance.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">droplet isolation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, meaning patients and health-care workers are <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly required to wear gowns, gloves, masks, and face shields. The sheer cost to constantly replace that PPE is staggering. Even if money should be no object, money is not infinite. Prioritizing where those dollars go, especially two years into this crisis, is important.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ:\u00a0Will Canadians need COVID booster shots?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s talk about those plentiful plexiglass barriers which line bars, restaurants, and shops for a second: They are monument to the idea that tiny viral droplets and fomite transmission are the reason for the pandemic. Governments have required them in spaces where people cannot space two meters apart. In practise, however, that outdated way of thinking may be making things worse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one British study, researchers <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/emg-role-of-screens-and-barriers-in-mitigating-covid-19-transmission-1-july-2021\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">modelled<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> what role, exactly, these barriers were playing: They found that screens could block larger droplets when two people are face-to-face\u2014we don\u2019t necessarily need modelling to figure that out. But, more crucially, they found that these screens and barriers could \u201cincrease risks of aerosol transmission due to blocking\/changing airflow patterns or creating zones of poor air circulation behind screens.\u201d In other words: We\u2019ve prioritized the risk of droplet transmission over aerosol transmission, yet again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then there\u2019s the constant cleaning and hand sanitizing. It feels like every surface in the world, from our hands to countertops, rental car steering wheels, and door knobs, are being constantly sanitized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This comes with a cost. Put aside the environmental impact of all this cleaning waste, we\u2019re actually destroying public infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Toronto, the TTC spent an additional $12 million in cleaning during 2020, and requested an additional $15 million for 2021. But that\u2019s not all: \u201cThe corrosive nature of the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roved products has resulted in corrosion and damage to vehicle surface and equipment,\u201d the TTC\u2019s Chief Vehicles Officer <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20210909200222\/https:\/\/www.ttc.ca\/About_the_TTC\/Commission_reports_and_information\/Commission_meetings\/2021\/September_15\/Reports\/9_COVID_19_Vehicle_Disinfecting_Services.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wrote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in September. The incessant cleaning and sanitizing of busses is also leading to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/gta\/2021\/08\/04\/ttc-disinfects-its-buses-frequently-to-fight-covid-19-but-the-agencys-own-data-shows-the-cleaning-might-be-making-things-worse.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">huge costs and delays for commuters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Toronto: That, in turn, can worsen crowding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout the pandemic, the rank incompetence of many of our provincial governments has led to a doubling-down on these rules when things go bad. When the decisions of Fran\u00e7ois Legault, Jason Kenney, or Doug Ford have led to an explosion of cases, they have screeched at us about hand-washing and shut down services which had never been particularly risky \u2014 the appearance of action has consistently trumped the efficacy of that action. As I wrote last month, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this should make us really angry<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it doesn\u2019t have to be this way.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_work\"><\/span>What does work<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are not in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century because people keep swapping sneezes. We are here because entire rooms full of people can fall ill: The dreaded superspreader events. Those mass infections occur when the prevalence of the virus in the air grows to such a point that merely breathing in is risky. The way to beat that, we know, is to exchange and\u2014ideally\u2014filter the air. Wearing masks, which seem to decrease the amount of viral particles we inhale and exhale, is a great mitigation measure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One study of American schools, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.abh2939\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">published in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Science<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, found mandatory masking to be hands-down the most effective strategy for reducing COVID-19 spread. Closing the cafeteria, desk shields, closing the playground: These strategies corresponded to a higher rate of cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers in New York, in July, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.14814\/phy2.14967\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">published a study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> looking at transmission in exercise classes. \u201cWe report no known viral spread when masks, social distancing, and HEPA ventilation were utilized in a high intensity exercising environment with shouting\/loudness of vocalization, which is associated with rapid spread of COVID-19.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another study, in Brazil, surveyed people on mask usage and social distancing and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8314805\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">found <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cadults who reported moderate or greater adherence to distancing recommendations reduced their odds of infection by one half to two thirds, and those who reported using masks when out reduced their risk by 87 percent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All three studies involved people who had not yet been vaccinated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mass vaccination, and limiting access to higher-risk settings strictly to those who are fully vaccinated, is clearly one of the most effective strategies we have right now. Even if a vaccinated person has a breakthrough case of COVID-19, the prevalence of the virus in their system is likely to be low, which means the volume of viral particles they\u2019re breathing into the air will be low. That means that it is even less likely that someone else in the room, who is also vaccinated, will get sick \u2014 if they do, it will almost certainly be an even-more mild case, which in turn makes their case less infectious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But even since the mass vaccination campaign, it\u2019s become clear that we still need to keep a few core strategies. On July 30, New Brunswick \u2014 one of the most vaccinated parts of the country \u2014 dropped its indoor mask mandate. Starting in early August, the province began seeing an alarming rise in cases, adding nearly 100 cases per day by the end of September, the worst period of the pandemic yet for the province. Since August, 68 people have died, and things are still getting worse. (The <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.gnb.ca\/content\/gnb\/en\/news\/news_release.2021.10.0759.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">overwhelming majority<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of cases, serious illnesses, and deaths are of unvaccinated people.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next door, in still-masked Nova Scotia, the fall has seen a tiny blip in new cases. There have been just seven COVID-19 deaths since August.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s hard to say with any absolute certainty that masks\u2014even run-of-the-mill cloth ones\u2014are the difference-maker in terms of new COVID-19 cases. States are complex systems and isolating variables is famously difficult. But the compelling evidence definitely suggests there\u2019s a causal effect between good indoor mask usage and fewer cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Widely-available rapid testing can shrink the risk even further by catching outbreaks and break-through cases. Yet good luck finding one: The rarity of rapid testing Canada has been an unspeakable boondoggle. In America, anyone can buy a two-pack of effective and accurate COVID-19 tests for $20. In Canada, trying to track down a rapid test is like trapping a rare butterfly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we can keep up mask-wearing, expand vaccination, deploy rapid testing, and improve ventilation, cases are going to continue falling. Focusing on those core, effective, strategies means we can get back to doing regular things: Like dancing. Like karaoke.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, eventually, we won\u2019t have to wear masks at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_sunk_cost_fallacy\"><\/span>A sunk cost fallacy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I asked Andrew Morris\u2014a professor of medicine, an expert in antimicrobial stewardship, and a member of Ontario\u2019s Science Table\u2014his thoughts on what\u2019s working, and what\u2019s not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For starters, Morris says promoting vaccines needs to remain \u201cnumero uno.\u201d When it comes to addressing transmission, he lists the priorities in order: Masking, ventilation and filtration, rapid tests, and better flexibility for working and schooling including sick pay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s time, Morris told me, to \u201cget rid of low-value stuff.\u201d That means we need to \u201cde-emphasize cleaning, physical barriers, hand hygiene.\u201d These things may help, he notes, but not nearly as much as the clear strategies that we know, scientifically, are effective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are those, including in public health roles across the country, who would argue that we must continue the incessant hand-washing and putting up plexiglass barriers out of an abundance of caution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that\u2019s not science. Science asks us to test \u2014 and to pursue what works, and drop what doesn\u2019t. In effect, what governments across this country are asking us to do is to invest faith in these strategies. If cases go up, it\u2019s because we\u2019re not washing our hands well enough. If cases go down, it\u2019s because we\u2019re washing our hands more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This isn\u2019t science. It\u2019s not even pandemic theatre. It\u2019s superstition. And it\u2019s not harmless.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt diverts energy from other higher yield interventions,\u201d Morris says. It can also muddy something that we have sorely lacked for the past two years: Clear messaging. Morris advising the public can be as simple as \u201cstay home if sick, breath clear air \u2014 and wear a high-quality mask if you can\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We do not have that clarity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s more, we are risking COVID-19 fatigue. Rather than focusing on strategies that work, and ditching ones that don\u2019t, we are just stacking advice to the ceiling. Regular people no longer have a sense of what\u2019s effective, and what\u2019s useless. Some still wear masks outside. Others are still pressure washing their groceries. Some thing face shields are more effective than masks. (They are not.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve had a truly miserable two years. But it hasn\u2019t been for naught: We know what works. We know what doesn\u2019t. The more we can ditch the latter and focus on the former, the sooner we can leave Footloose rules, stop slathering our poor hands in harsh chemicals, and end the constant brain-poking.<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/society\/health\/the-plexiglass-barrier-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#The plexiglass barrier problem &#8211; Macleans.ca&#8221; You open the door and prepare to step outside when a pang of guilt hits, as though leaving the house is an act of transgression in and of itself. You go to the grocery store: One employee in a face shield gestures towards a jug of hand sanitizer, while&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP17156836-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60456,67806,9083,71041],"class_list":["post-360093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-covid","tag-editors-picks","tag-masks","tag-vaccines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}