If the wearing of masks was capable of almost entirely removing influenza from circulation, as has been observed, then this approach would also eliminate SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, SARS-CoV-2
virions, which range from ~50 to 200 nm, are similar in size to those of
influenza (~80 to 120 nm),
adenoviruses (~90 to 100 nm), and other endemic
betacoronaviruses, such as HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1 (~118 to 140 nm), which share the same genus as the novel virus. Since
SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and
various other respiratory viruses are largely spread by fine-particle
aerosols in
indoor settings, an intervention that works for one should logically work for the other. But in spite of the stringency of interventions,
SARS-CoV-2 cases have skyrocketed. At the same time, infections of endemic
betacoronaviruses, which should respond to NPIs in the same manner as SARS-CoV-2, have also
largely disappeared:
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