Those face masks haven't worked in Hong Kong after all

[Mark Crispin Miller]

True believers in the use of masks against COVID-19 have pointed to Hong Kong

to "prove" their case. For example:

Hong Kong Experts: Are Masks an Independently Significant Coronavirus Intervention?

https://www.contagionlive.com/news/hong-kong-masks-independently-significant-coronavirus-intervention

In a press release, Sunny Wong, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine and 

Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, noted the particular success of 

Hong Kong in the pandemic despite many social distancing measures being voluntary.

"Despite [Hong Kong's] proximity to mainland China, its infection rate of COVID-19 is 

generally modest with on 1,110 cases to-date. This correlates with an almost ubiquitous 

use of face masks in the city (up to 98.8 percent by respondents in a survey). Similar 

patterns are seen in other Asian areas, such as Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia,” Wong said.

Though "use of face masks" has indeed been "almost ubiquitous" in Hong Kong, it

evidently has not stopped the spread of COVID-19, according to the South China 

Morning Post.

Hong Kong third wave: authorities warn of hospital care crunch and order schools to close as 38 new coronavirus cases emerge

• Fresh cluster discovered at public housing estate, adding to existing ones centred around elderly care home, restaurants and taxi drivers
• Students will begin summer holidays early, but health minister says annual book fair will go ahead

Elizabeth Cheung, Kathleen Magramo, Lilian Cheng and Chan Ho-him

Published: 12:21pm, 10 Jul, 2020

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3092611/coronavirus-schools-suspended-hong-kong-over

It gives me no pleasure to repeat what all the randomized controlled tests tell us: that 

masks and respirators don't prevent transmission of respiratory viruses. To keep 

insisting that they do, just because the CDC (now) says so, is irresponsible, to say

the least.

MCM