there's a thing about sweden though: they are probably much closer to herd immunity than any other country, so on the long run, these numbers can be reversed. 1st wave is only part of the bigger picture, we have to wait and see until the end of the 3rd/4th wave.
as for the masks and social distancing, a local group of experts (mathematicians, epidemiologists, network researchers, etc) whose advices were outstandingly effective in planning the 1st wave restrictions in hungary are 100% pro mask (indoor, that is) and pro social distancing. our 2nd wave will be fucking hard as the government prefers to keep the economy alive, still, the same experts say that the only way to deaden the 2nd wave effects is by using masks and keeping the distance. i'm no expert, i believe these guys.
I believe antibody testing showed that Sweden was nowhere near herd immunity, but that’s just hypothetical at the moment as there is a lot of debate currently on what constitutes herd immunity for this virus. Some saying it will start to show at around 20-30%, others still insisting on that 60-70% threshold.
I think the idea around early shutdowns to snuff out the virus before reopening with masks + social distancing was to get the virus under control while we understood very little about treating it and how easily it spread. As well as using that time to institute proper testing and contact tracing protocols.
Sweden took a huge gamble, which in the long run could turn out correct if no effective treatment or vaccine is found, and other countries see massive spikes again in 2nd and 3rd waves, but also could turn out to have been very poor if those things are found before new waves arrive. I mean, of it’s close by countries, the highest death toll/million is Germany at 112 (with 8x the population and far higher population density), followed by Denmark at 109. Norway, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia are all still significantly below 100 deaths/million. Sweden is at 578 deaths/million.
Let’s say all those countries double their death toll/million before treatment/vaccine is found. Sweden hypothetically keeps the low numbers and only goes up to 600. That still puts it at nearly 3X the deaths per million of Germany and Denmark. I’m not really sure how anyone can call that a successful strategy.
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i wore one today for indoors work, and for an extended period of time (~6 hours with a couple of short breaks) it's bloody sweaty. i can see guys with glasses hating it with a passion. otherwise i'm fine with it
I wear N95 dust masks alongside safety glasses at work for extended periods most days while cutting timber frame joinery... can confirm that it is awful and sweaty in summer, and that glasses can fog up if they are fitted properly. But they stop me from destroying my lungs with dust and other particulate, so it’s a very easy choice to make.
Same deal with wearing them during a pandemic. If masks are even slightly effective, it’s an easy choice to make.