OF MASKS AND PANDEMIC: THE WTTIHITMOMFIFB SYNDROME

In these troublesome times (1) a new syndrome is spreading as fast as the pandemic, and its insurgence started just a short while after that of the new coronavirus. 

I am talking about the: "What?! The Thing I Have In The Middle Of My Face Is For Breathing?" (WTTIHITMOMFIFB) Syndrome. 

It affects many, many people, who, poor things, risk a severe shock whenever reminded that the mask, when worn, must cover BOTH their mouth & nose, 'cause, yup, they breathe also (well, mainly) through their nose - these folks almost always faint when they're told that, oh yeah, the nose is made basically for this, breathing, rather than to be a playground for picky fingers or worst - and therefore, since breathing means inhaling AND exhaling, well, what comes out of such nose of theirs can be as a

PiPs with mask (by @sciencemug)

source of infection for who's around 'em as what's coming out of their mouths (2)(3)(4) (letting alone the fact that their unprotected nose is an anatomical device that, by default, takes in the 100% of anything the air carries, included, among other things, viruses shed by other people… (5))

So, basically, those affected by the WTTIHITMOMFIFB Syndrome, put for sure themselves in danger, along with the ones in range of their nose-made potentially virus-lulling aerosol (6).

Bibliography (Updated on 1-Sept-2020)

1- McFee, R.B. (2020). SARS 2 human coronavirus (COVID -19, SARS CoV2). Disease-a-Month 101063.

2- Leung, N.H.L., Chu, D.K.W., Shiu, E.Y.C., Chan, K.-H., McDevitt, J.J., Hau, B.J.P., Yen, H.-L., Li, Y., Ip, D.K.M., Peiris, J.S.M., et al. (2020). Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks. Nature Medicine 26, 676–680.

3- Morawska, L., and Cao, J. (2020). Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: The world should face the reality. Environment International 139, 105730.

4-Zhang, R., Li, Y., Zhang, A.L., Wang, Y., and Molina, M.J. (2020). Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19. PNAS 117, 14857–14863.

5- Esposito, S., Principi, N., Leung, C.C., and Migliori, G.B. (2020). Universal use of face masks for success against COVID-19: evidence and implications for prevention policies. European Respiratory Journal 55.
6-Fears, A.C., Klimstra, W.B., Duprex, P., Hartman, A., Weaver, S.C., Plante, K.S., Mirchandani, D., Plante, J.A., Aguilar, P.V., Fernández, D., et al. Persistence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Aerosol Suspensions - Volume 26, Number 9—September 2020 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC.