Day 190: Still No Evidence for Masks

Brazil has hit three million cases as well as 100,000 deaths. Israel has exceeded Sweden by one case, and is also more active and close to crossing the China line. A small "third wave" has brought Hong Kong to 4,000 cases.

In the US, Tennessee barely miss passing Massachusetts today; tomorrow it should be a shoe-in. The MWRA, which provides water and sewage services to most of the metro Boston area (not to be confused with the Boston metropolitan statistical area, which includes much of the population of three New England states), has been testing our collective poop with the help of Cambridge poop-testing company Biobot. You can see our results at the MWRA site, where a disturbing peak from earlier this week appears to have resolved itself, returning us to our previous poop plateau. (Massachusetts' cases are up a third of a percentage point again today.)

The Foundation for Economic Education reports on the lack of evidence for masks and on the Northern European governments who have not put their populations under the mask due to said lack of evidence.

Dutch public health officials recently explained why they’re not recommending masks.

"From a medical point of view, there is no evidence of a medical effect of wearing face masks, so we decided not to impose a national obligation," said Medical Care Minister Tamara van Ark.

Others, echoing statements similar to the US Surgeon General from early March, said masks could make individuals sicker and exacerbate the spread of the virus.

“Face masks in public places are not necessary, based on all the current evidence,” said Coen Berends, spokesman for the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. “There is no benefit and there may even be negative impact.”