Face masks for the public during the covid-19 crisis

@article{Greenhalgh2020FaceMF,
  title={Face masks for the public during the covid-19 crisis},
  author={Trisha Greenhalgh and Manuel B Schmid and Thomas Czypionka and Dirk Bassler and Laurence Gruer},
  journal={BMJ},
  year={2020},
  volume={369}
}
Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues argue that it is time to apply the precautionary principle 
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506 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
23
Background Citations
191
Methods Citations
7
Results Citations
8

506 Citations

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Universal public mask wear during COVID‐19 pandemic: Rationale, design and acceptability
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As the covid-19 crisis deepens, Greenhalgh and colleagues say that policy makers should encourage the public to wear face masks, but think that the potential negative unintended consequences of a policy shift deserve more consideration.
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Several factors that pose a risk for fair group composition are identified along with an analysis of general lessons for a philosophy of technology to benchmark proposal technologies, curb the pandemic, and keep public trust.
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A pragmatic argument for face mask use by the public in response to covid-19 is presented, and although trialling parachutes seems redundant, considerations such as quality control, “user” training, and ultimately reach remain relevant.
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References

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Covid-19 — Navigating the Uncharted Fauci, Lane, and Redfield comment on the early clinical features and epidemiology of cases reported in Wuhan, China, along with current mortality data, noting the importance of knowing the carrier and removal status of canine coronavirus.
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Estimating generation and serial interval distributions from outbreak data requires careful investigation of the underlying transmission network, which is essential for correctly estimating these quantities.
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