O.K., it suggests that while wearing the mask the wearer either (a) already had a Covid19 infection or (b) got the Covid19 infection, and in either case continued wearing the mask post-infection for some time, thearby, via repetition of exposure to active virus in the mask, increased the total viral load being received.
In the case where the wearer was not already infected, there may have been exposure to the virus from someone else, but it would have been a single exposure, instead of repeated contact with active virus elements in the mask, and thus the total viral load they were exposed to was likely less than if they had a mask on; according to the theory in the study.
But, I am not sure that the effect is materially the same in the case of someone who already has an ongoing active Covid19 infection in their system. Does the theory suggest that in their case the already active infection gets worse?
Yes, the virus particles present get concentrated & inhaled deeper.
The articles says that virus particles that enter the mask, and since masks are permeable to virus size particles any particles in the air do enter, and virus particles exhaled by the person are concentrated in the mask and transmitted to deeper areas of the lung then they would be w/o the mask. Particles in those deeper areas are more likely to cause pneumonia viral or bacterial.
“...I am not sure that the effect is materially the same in the case of someone who already has an ongoing active Covid19 infection in their system. Does the theory suggest that in their case the already active infection gets worse?”
YES. That’s exactly the case. Rebreathing the virus builds up the load in your airways, and the mask allows the virus to “reverse filter” the pathogen back into your airways. Fresh air goes into the mask, picks up pathogens, straight back into your lungs.
Like farting into a plasic bag, then holding it against your face, breathing in and out.
Or so I’ve heard.... :)
“Does the theory suggest that in their case the already active infection gets worse?”
It is right there in the article. You don’t even have to click the link to see it.
“A rationale for the increased RR by mandating masks is probably that virions that enter or those coughed out in droplets are retained in the facemask tissue, and after quick evaporation of the droplets, hypercondensed droplets or pure virions (virions not inside a droplet) are re-inhaled from a very short distance during inspiration.”