Let us fashion our face mask better than most. We know aerosols slip through the tiniest of holes. If the mask allows air in, it allows the small little virus particles, as well. Unfortunately, breathable means virus-able.
So, perhaps a cloth mask of at least two layers. We don't want silky. We don't want shiny. No, if the material surface is not soft,if it is not absorbent, the virus particles may simply bounce off and continue on in. We want something that will catch the particle -- something sticky or such. (Would that there was something that had a magnetic-type effect on the virus.)
Two layers? The thought is that maybe if the virus passes clean through the first layer, it will need to turn or bend to get through the second. The thought is that maybe it smacks into the fiber of the second before it can bend to make its way sideways to get through another hole.
Who knows what the masks of the future will hold. Maybe they will be paper masks with a sticky center and outside layers to protect from the sticky stuff. (And, maybe the whole sticky-stuff idea won't work.) Maybe the masks of the future will be such that they allow the carbon dioxide we emit to get out, but trap out the virus particles we don't want to let in.
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