If you're wearing gloves, but not a mask, you need a different information source.

 

Keeping up with the latest on Covid-19 has been a challenge.  It's a moving target with new information coming in daily from all over the world.

 

On May 14th the CDC announced that mask wearing could be discontinued for people who were vaccinated.  And yesterday Guv. Cuomo announced that NYC will be following suit.

 

But I was surprised over the weekend, before the mask mandate was lifted in NYC, to spot several people wearing gloves but not masks.

 

How did that happen?

 

Confusion aside, both the data from Hong Kong about the virus traveling through an apartment complex and stories about people in the U.S. getting infected at their hairdressers and in church made it seem pretty obvious that Covid-19 is an airborne disease. (Regan, 2020)

 

As far as gloves go, the evidence has been scant.  I read about someone in New Zealand who contacted Covid-19 from a garbage can lid.  But it turned out that they actually contacted the disease from the air.  (Morton, 2021)

 

The retraction article was a bit harder to find than the original story. But all the other data I have mentioned was gathered from two reliable sources: CNN and The New York Times.

 

Those people still wearing gloves?

 

It's likely that they are getting their information from the most unreliable news source of all - social media.  Research has shown that fake news spreads faster and further on social media than elsewhere, thanks to algorithms that are designed solely to engage people for the longest possible time. 

 

So, it's pretty simple.  If you want to be better informed.  Don't get your news from social media.  

 

 

Morton, J. (2021, March 18)  Covid 19 coronavirus: Scientists solve the rubbish bin mystery.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-scientists-solve-the-rubbish-bin-mystery/4CRHEWJ24624THL7T5QWP6Z7PE/

 

Regan, H. (2020, February 12) How can the coronavirus spread through bathroom pipes? Experts are investigating in Hong Kong.  cnn.com.  Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/12/asia/hong-kong-coronavirus-pipes-intl-hnk/index.html

 

Bridgman, A., Merkley, E., Loewen, P., Pwen, T., Ruths, D., Teichmann, L., Zhilin, O. (2020, June 18)  The causes and consequences of COVID-19 misperceptions: Understanding the role of news and social media.  harvard.edu.  Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/the-causes-and-consequences-of-covid-19-misperceptions-understanding-the-role-of-news-and-social-media/