PHILIPSBURG – Facemasks are essential, for example in bars. That is the opinion of Detlef Lohse, a Professor of The Physics of Fluids. Lohse is leading a study into how long droplets hang in the air and what their possible role is in infection. The study sheds new light on the need to wear facemasks in closed environments like bars.
According to Lohse droplets live 30 to 40 times longer than previously thought. That previous assumption is based on a study that is now 90 years old, but this 1930’s research is nevertheless the basis for the World Health Organization’s recommendation to practice social distancing of 1.5 meters. Local observations suggest strongly that social distancing among bar-hoppers is more often than not neglected.
But Lohse has come to the conclusion that wearing facemasks is essential in the fight against the spread of the corona-virus.
Worldwide, scientists have expressed concerns that the corona-virus is not only spread by droplets from coughs and sneezes. They think that airborne transmission by tiny articles is also a definite possibility, the Algemeen Dagblad reported.
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM) said on Tuesday that the weekly number of recorded infections in the Netherlands has jumped from 534 on July 15 to 987 on July 21. This suggests that infected persons are spreading the virus to more than one other, the RIVM said.
Infection clusters have been linked to events like a meeting in a café in Hillegom, that left 27 people infected.
Virologist Marion Koopmans said in the TV-program Nieuwsuur that she is concerned about the rapid rise in infections. “If we keep seeing this increase then we need to take strong measures very quickly.”
The RIVM has not yet called for mandatory wearing facemasks in shops and other establishments. France has introduced this measure already, but the RIVM sticks to its advice that people need to keep their distance from each other, that they have to wash their hands frequently, and that they have to get tested once they show any symptoms.
In the Netherlands, so far 6,136 people have died from a corona-infection; half of the victims were 83 years of age or older.
In this context it is remarkable that, according to the RIVM, people in their twenties are the most likely group to catch an infection.
Of all positive tests since July 1, 23 percent were from people aged 20 to 29; in March the percentage for this age group was just 7, while 73 percent of infected people were 50 years or older. That percentage has gone down to 29.
Henri Lenferink, the Mayor of Leiden, has hinted that regional lockdowns could be right around the corner after 27 people caught the infection during a meeting at a café in Hillegom. Lenferink prefers regional lockdowns to nationwide ones. And while he considers the numbers from Hillegom as still “too low for a lockdown,” he said that it was a close call and that he expects good results if such a measure would become a reality. “If you act quickly, it should work.”
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Relevant links:
Study suggests face masks needed in bars to protect against coronavirus droplets
Regional lockdowns ‘could be necessary’ as coronavirus spreads among under-30s
Bar at centre of coronavirus outbreak openly defied rules in Facebook post
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