How much coronavirus we encounter affects the outcome. So wear a mask

The findings, released at a conference on the new disease, suggest that face masks and other measures lead to milder disease even when they fail to thwart transmission

Face masks and social distancing may help make the coronavirus less lethal for those who catch it by limiting the amounts they’re
exposed to.

Two new studies released Thursday point in that direction. One shows the amount of coronavirus that hospital patients in Detroit carried in their nose declined between April and June as people adopted masks and other public-health measures -- and that the drop was associated with a decrease in death rates. Another study, from Italy, found that as the so-called viral load declined, so did severe cases.

The findings, released at a conference on the new disease,