UC San Diego researchers cite strong evidence that COVID-19 can travel through the air, making the face mask even more important, NBC 7’s Joe Little reports.
Face masks.
Doctors love them. Scientists love them.
The stars of viral videos hate them. The coronavirus hates them, too, according to a recent study out of UC San Diego, CalTech, and Texas A&M.
“Wearing masks is something that’s easy and is probably one of the single-most important known factors for helping to control transmission,” said UC San Diego Chemistry Professor Rommie Amaro, Ph.D.
According to an article on UC San Diego’s News Center, the study “confirms that face coverings determine the pandemic’s trends and significantly reduce the number of infections.”
Dr. Amaro said the study is strong evidence the virus travels through the air. Hundreds of scientists recently urged the World Health Organization to acknowledge the virus is spread through the air.
“I tell you, it’s another reason why you should wear a mask because once this virus gets inside of you it has a lot of tricks up its sleeve in terms of evading your immune system,” she exclaimed during a Facetime interview with NBC 7.
Amaro knows one of those tricks. She recently discovered the coronavirus has a disguise that makes it harder for our bodies to attack.
“The virus coats itself in a sugary coating in order to hide itself from the human immune system,” she explained.
It’s another reason why the chemist wondered why people don’t wear face masks.
“Like many scientists, I think we find it frustrating in some sense,” she said. “I think we could do a better job communicating how important it is to wear masks.”
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“We all have to participate,” she concluded. “We are all participants in this.”
