Normally only safe recommendation for people with beards is to use a powered air purifying respirator, but right now it may be impossible to get.
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Except in this case the recommendation for people to wear masks is perhaps more to keep them from spreading the virus. We’re not talking clinical use here. So while a perfect seal would be desirable, only respirators have perfect seals, at least the potential for it. Surgical masks and homemade masks do not.
IANADr
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I’m guessing this is going to make it really easy to spot his supporters in public. (I mean, aside from the stupid red hats and other associated paraphernalia, of course.) They’ll be the ones without masks because glorious leader said they didn’t have to do it.
I only have the barest of anecdotal evidence to back this up, but I think I’m seeing this already. I had three gigs in the last two days where I actually had to interact with people. (Even before this outbreak, I much prefer the ones where I don’t have to interact with anyone, but sometimes you take what you can get. Of these, the one where the people involved weren’t wearing masks or gloves or making their own effort to keep appropriate distance was the one with “Deplorable on board” on the contacts’ cars.
I wonder how many of them are going to be screaming they deserve free healthcare in about a month?
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To be honest this is getting REALLY confusing. Early on the advice in the US was that wearing a face mask was pointless and “weird pseudoscience and an ‘Asian cultural quirk,’ unless you yourself are sick.” Nearly every article / no-bullshit “science-oriented” person here I’ve met would scoff at the idea of everyone wearing a mask by default, with various reasons why it was pointless. Not to mention the self-congratulatory (left leaning I have to add) social media moralizers who would pat themselves on the back for not needlessly consuming scarce resources. Now, increasingly you see articles arguing it is a good idea for everyone.
I’ll read these, and I’ve already seen them from NYT and NPR and I make no claims one way or the other because this is not an area I hold trained / formal knowledge in, but I’m getting really frustrated and disappointed this seems to be so contentious. How is it 2020 and doctors / the CDC keep changing their story on what seems like it should be basic knowledge?
Not trying to concern troll, I just am getting really curious why this has been such a topic for debate the last month or two.
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You’re not the only one. I was under the firm impression that the masks were only good for sick people to prevent spreading it to others. This wasn’t my immediate, natural assumption- I definitely learned it earlier in the pandemic and took it to heart. Now we’re being told the complete opposite, with no acknowledgment or explanation whatsoever that the original “masks are only for sick people” was even a thing. I know we’re learning new things about COVID19 as we go along, but “can a mask stop you from catching a virus” seems like the sort of basic science question that should have been answered long, LONG before now.
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I guess that, as “sick people” can be asymptomatic and yet still contagious; treating everyone like a “sick person” is the safest stance to assume.
@RandomDude There’s is even a special mask made for Trump.
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I think the issue is that right now, community transmission is a serious problem in the US and specifically New York, so masks can help prevent the masked person from spreading the infection. They won’t prevent non-infected people from being infected because the infection often goes in through another part of the face.
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Trump is safe. His is a positive pressure respiratory system whose exhaust is toxic to whatever it meets.
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Yes - stay home.
Honestly, is your beard (which will grow back) more important than the health and safety of yourself and those around you?
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Did someone called Sneede post a pic of a face snood? 
ETA and that’s not me being snide
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If it is grown for religious reasons I can see it being equally as important, but in those circumstances I would tell whoever is asking to talk to religious leaders.
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Definitively NOT equally as important under any circumstances, when the alternative is a practice that has potential to reduce transmission and ingestion of a deadly virus.
If someone needs to talk to their religious leaders about whether they think their sky god thinks that modes of hair management are more important than the imminent health and safety of oneself and one’s fellow humans, then that someone and their religious leaders are doing it wrong (humanity, that is).
Asking them the question merely gives them the chance to think about enacting even more fuckwittery in the name of their sky god.
In those circumstances I would tell whoever is asking to think for themselves. Of course, that may be a tough ask and go very much against the grain, especially if indoctrinated not to do that since birth.
Of course, the other advice works just as well for the hard of independent thought. STAY HOME!
No apology for robust views on the pernicious evil of organised religion and tendency of religious ‘leaders’ to enact it, proven time and time again over many centuries. (Even though I’ll probably get flamed for it by some and may end up having to withdraw this post. Let’s see.)
ETA Actually I would advise them to talk to a trusted and expert medical person about the different risks of ingestion or transmission with a mask over a beard. That’s who they should talk to!
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On the other hand, of course, there’s this:
Though the virus can still enter via the eyes if droplets make it that far.
And all those signs in petrol stations saying crash helmets must be removed? May get harder to enforce.
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well into an still-uncontrolled disease outbreak
In my semi-rural part of the state, the case count has grown, but on a very shallow, pretty much straight line. We are driving our cars to where we need to go, nobody in the car who does not live in the same house.
On the other hand -
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It’s not as big or hawk like, but it’s decent. Noses and ears keep growing with age, so…
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Get used to it. This is an evolving situation and knowledge is incomplete and changing constantly. The key changes here are 1) just exactly how widespread this thing is and 2) the huge number of asymptomatic carriers. It is still true that the primary benefit of fabric face covers is to reduce spread of virus. If you interpret that as “only for sick people” you are missing the large percentage who are infected and contagious but “well appearing” and not sick, even the ones who will eventually get very sick are contagious for a few days prior to onset of symptoms. Since it is now very widespread, you may be infected wherever you are and not know it. The face coverings do offer some benefit to the wearer as far as decreasing viral exposure, but the primary reason to wear it is to protect others from you.
And anyone who does not think that is a viable reason to wear one is disqualified to live in a civilized society, IMHO.
ETA: There is (some, small study) data on this which Ars Technica did a deep dive on if you are interested is such things.
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