I don't get it. If wearing a face mask protects health care workers why won't it protect anybody else? Originally Posted by gfejunkieThey wear a shield to protect their faces from body fluids that carry germs and viruses. They wear a "mask" to prevent any germs they may carry from infecting the person they are treating. Notice they wear BOTH at times!
BTW: Speaking of transfer and cross-contamination .... Do you notice people walking around in stores (and elsewhere) with rubber/synthetic gloves on? One can buy those by the box at many stores (or one used to beable to do so) and some stores (Sam's/Walmart) are getting them back on the shelves.
Putting aside that those gloves will not protect someone from germs/viruses carried by body fluids* when one touches a product in the store with gloves on the germs/viruses are on the gloves and then they handle their other groceries etc with those same gloves, which transfers the germs/viruses to the other items they have purchased .... and if they wear them to their vehicle to unload the things they bought the germs/viruses are transferred to the inside of the vehicle (in which other family members ride .... or friends). Worse than that ..... when someone sneezes in the store their germ/virus laden body fluids are deposited on the store floor and people walk through it and the germs/virus is picked up by their shoes .... which they track to their vehicle and into their homes.
*Next time notice that "first responders" (EMTs) don't wear them. They know!