The droplet theory was dropped within the first few months. It turns out it's not just COVID; many infections we thought were spread by droplets are actually airborne.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Oh, thanks for the info. How effective are n95s and/or surgical/cloth masks given that information?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Surgical/cloth are pretty much useless for COVID. N95s buy you temporary protection unless you've got the special face fittings needed to actually seal your face. It depends on the environment you're in but the worst case scenarios (like enclosed spaces without high airflow), the last study I saw was on the Delta variant and they said about 15 minutes if both parties are masked. It does get better from there though, with good ventilation you might have a few hours, and being outdoors you're actually pretty safe.