Double Masking has Limited Benefits, Says Supercomputer Model

Am not in a place to evaluate this analysis, or seen a validation, but surprised we have not seen similar analytics regarding transmission of CoronaVirus.  

Double-Masking Benefits Are Limited, Japan Supercomputer Finds  By Bloomberg, March 12, 2021

Double-masking, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yields limited benefits in preventing the spread of droplets that could transmit Covid-19 compared to a single well-fitted disposable mask, according to an analysis conducted with a Japanese supercomputer.

Researchers at Japan's Riken research institute and Kobe University used Fugaku, the world's fastest supercomputer, to model droplet dispersal.

The simulation demonstrated that wearing just one tightly-fitted disposable mask prevented the spread of 85% of virus-bearing particles, while wearing two masks prevented only 89%.

One well-fitted mask captured 81% of the droplets, compared to 69% by one loosely-fitted mask.

The researchers observed that a tight fit and avoiding gaps in the mask were essential to blocking droplet spread.

From Bloomberg

Who Owns Smartphone Data

Continuing look at data and ownership and security.

Who Has Access to Your Smartphone Data?    By Keith Kirkpatrick

Communications of the ACM, October 2020, Vol. 63 No. 10, Pages 15-17 10.1145/3416078

In a world that is defined by the generation and collection of data by technology and communications companies, personal information—including where people go, with whom they associate, what they purchase, and what they read, listen to, and even eat—it is quite a simple task to create a detailed profile of an individual based solely on the data captured in his or her phone.

The right to access and use the cache of personal information stored in each person's smartphone has become a major question about balancing personal privacy rights against governments' desire to monitor and retrieve data about its citizens' activities for law enforcement, public safety, and health issues. While much of the attention over the past several years has focused on demands from law enforcement to access this data to aid in criminal investigations, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has refocused the debate on the government's right to access location data during health or other public safety emergencies.

Within the U.S., the primary communications privacy law that regulates the disclosure of and access to electronic data held by communication services providers, including wireless carriers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), social media platforms, and search companies, among others, is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) which, along with the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act OF 2001, protects wire, oral, and electronic communications while those communications are being made, are in transit, and when they are stored on computers. As the Act explicitly states, "Some information can be obtained from providers with a subpoena; other information requires a special court order; and still other information requires a search warrant."

Andrew Crocker, senior staff attorney on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's civil liberties team, says the ECPA generally "requires the government to use legal process to get data about users," rather than simply allowing them to request and receive information from service providers.  .... " 

Virtual Care Services

Experienced this recently, was nicely done.   Though I would require at least some face to face and visual analysis as part of the care.   Might this be done by using images and sharing these ahead of the appointment?

Forrester writes about the quicker adoption.  Part 2 with links to the first part.

Virtual Care Is A Requirement — Not A “Nice-To-Have”
Arielle Trzcinski, Senior Analyst  Forrester
Virtual Care Blog Series — Part 2

The pandemic has pushed virtual care technologies to make the leap across the chasm of adoption as even the pragmatists and conservatives have started deploying these services. Forrester made the call that 2020 would be the tipping point in virtual care adoption, and the pandemic accelerated this shift as barriers that inhibited faster adoption have been removed, such as lack of consumer awareness, cost and reimbursement hurdles, and the ability for patients to connect with their existing provider that they trust.

To better understand how adoption has played out in the market, what areas are seeing the greatest amount of growth, and to establish a baseline in virtual care, Forrester has been connecting with the supply side — the vendors in the virtual care space. These vendors have reported a significant rise in enrollment, adoption, and new implementations by healthcare organizations (HCOs). As part of our weekly series on virtual care, we are continuing to highlight how virtual care is transforming the future of healthcare. Missed the previous blog? Check it out here.  .... "