Why is virus transmission via aerosol such a controversial thing? When you cough, microscopic water drops get suspend in the air and studies have proven other strains of coronavirus can survive in these particles, especially in office conditions.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32226116

And there's at least one study that found healthcare workers are at higher risk of infection during medical procedures that create aerosols.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3338532/

Perhaps it's some human bias and we dread the idea that simply sharing the same atmosphere puts us at risk?

This could be something very positive actually, and lead to rapid non-invasive testing. Imagine virus testing as part of the air filters on planes and cruise ships, could be a very powerful tool for preventing outbreaks.

This is why people need to learn to listen to their intuition and their common sense instead of losing out to the tyranny of the experts during critical situations.

I don't care if the experts don't want a run on masks. Anyone of modest intelligence knows that paper with little holes in it impedes the movement of air and droplets. Even if a mask is poorly sealed, surely it does something for both the infected and the uninfected, yet we've allowed the authorities, the experts, to gaslight us into accepting that the sky is blue so that they could augment their supply with masks intended to be sold to civilians. Under normal circumstances, individuals can afford to wait for evidence and listen to it. Now there are people who are going to die because they trusted the idea that they shouldn't wear a harmless piece of paper.

If they didn't want a run on masks, they should have chosen to say something other than an insult to our intelligence, and then backtrack. And if you don't believe that the CDC, WHO, journalism outlets, were begging people to not wear masks back in February, I have to wonder what rock you've been living under.

This video was posted on /r/Coronavirus/ and was pretty interesting:

Micro droplets suspending in air https://vimeo.com/402577241

Another nail in the coffin for the "masks don't work" side of things.

Just to be clear, they are talking about surgical-type masks, similar to the cloth masks people are making.

They are NOT talking about N95 "masks". There is constant confusion in the press and elsewhere between these two.

One protects others (surgical mask), and one protects others AND the wearer (N95).

Vox proposed that we call N95s by their technical term, "respirators", and other masks "masks", but then I suppose people will start confusing "respirators" and "ventilators"

One thing in this study I find totally surprising is this: how can aerosol from different virus classes be differently contagious when passing through a mask? They seemed to have measured that, but it would really be very interesting to get an explanation how this is possible. How does a mask filter the contagion from corona aerosol, but not from rhino aerosol. This is totally perplexing to me.

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something that i don't fully understand - as a healthy person does wearing a mask has any effect? or the masks work only for reducing the chance of transmitting the virus if already infected?