This doctor has proven an important point related to misinformation surrounding the use of facemasks during the pandemic. Tom Lawton, a doctor who has worked at the Bradford Royal Infirmary throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, decided to document running the 22 miles from his home to his work and back, all while wearing a face mask.
Doctor Runs In His Facemask For 21 Miles To Work To Prove They Don’t Lower Oxygen Levels
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A doctor from Yorkshire, England ran 22 miles to and back from work to prove an important point concerning the use of facemask during this pandemic and to raise money for charity to boot. Tom Lawton, a doctor who has worked at the Bradford Royal Infirmary throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, has seen the worst of what the virus can do to people, and is now committed to fighting against the misinformation that is spread against the virus especially facemasks that they can limit the oxygen intake.
And next week I'll be proving you can run 16-21 miles in one with no effect on oxygen levels. https://t.co/TgEDQKr3gD https://t.co/unKox9mrU5
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 18, 2020
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In order to prove this, Tom decided to document running the 22 miles from his home to his work and back, all while wearing a face mask. Through this, the doctor not only proved that masks have a limited impact on oxygen intake but at the time of writing, has raised over £1,600 for the Trussell Trust, a food bank charity working to stop UK hunger and poverty.
Right, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is on this mask hypoxia issue and run to work and back wearing one.
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 18, 2020
Fundraising for the Trussell Trust (food banks)
But what should I wear?https://t.co/TgEDQKIE8b
Please RT
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Tom kept the mask on for the entire duration of his run, which was almost the distance of a marathon. As he wrote on Twitter, using a SATS meter, "levels were stubbornly 98%" every time he checked them, and in total, he breathed enough oxygen for "about 10 calm people".
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 20, 2020
"Learning points: trying to do 10 people's-worth of breathing through a soaking wet mask is unpleasant, but doesn't cause hypoxia," he added in another tweet. "Cloth masks are *very* good at catching respiratory droplets!"
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After his little experiment, Tom took to twitter, ‘Please feel free to cite this when anyone suggests they’re bad for you, and stay safe – and COVID-free. If I can run 16-21 miles masked, you can probably make it round the shops."
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 20, 2020
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— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 20, 2020
#6
Right, today's the day. Time for Science.
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 20, 2020
All good science involves a baseline reading.
In one of these I've been wearing a mask for a couple of minutes. I'll let you guess which. pic.twitter.com/3l7wCwwVjO
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Off shift at the hospital and ready for the half marathon (actually about 14 miles) home.
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 20, 2020
Cloth mask on for the last few minutes to get changed, and look at what it's done to my oxygen levels!
Still time to donate:https://t.co/TgEDQKr3gD pic.twitter.com/cQdd6nntct
#8
Thank you so much everyone for donating - we've so far raised £1130 which I hope will help a lot of people.
— Tom Lawton (@LawtonTri) July 20, 2020
Final verdict was 22.6 miles in a mask (8 miles, then just over 14), breathing enough oxygen for about 10 calm people all the way. (1/n)