The controversial meme about the use of masks that Trump's son shared

Trump with mask: "I looked like the Lone Ranger" 0:52

Washington (CNN) - United States President Donald Trump has finally started encouraging people to wear face masks, albeit without wearing one. Meanwhile, his son Donald Trump Jr. is actively raising doubts about the effectiveness of the face masks against the coronavirus.

On Facebook, Trump Jr. posted a picture of a lab where scientists worked with certain suits for hazardous materials known as positive pressure suits. The text in the image says: “This is what virologists use to protect themselves from a virus. But do not worry. Your scarf probably works, too. ”

The image is from 2017 and was taken at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the central Chinese province of Hubei.

In publishing the image, Trump Jr. wrote: "A solid point." The post has had more than 40,000 shares and more than 69,000 reactions on Facebook.

Solid point.

Posted by Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday, June 30, 2020

The facts first: It is false and dangerous to suggest that face masks and covers do not help prevent the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, which has killed more than 517,000 people since China reported its first cases to the World Health Organization in December.

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) point out, coronavirus spreads "through respiratory drops produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks" and "these drops can fall into the mouth or nose from close people or possibly being inhaled into the lungs. ”

The main reason for wearing a face mask is to prevent personal drops from spreading to others.

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University, in a study published in the journal Physics of Fluids on Tuesday, found that the handkerchiefs reduced the average distance cough traveled from 2.5 meters to one. A folded scarf brought that distance down to 40 centimeters. Commercial cone masks reduced the distance to 20.3 centimeters and a two-layer stitched mask to 6.3 centimeters.

Pointing to a 2017 image of researchers wearing positive pressure suits while studying various viruses in no way refutes or casts doubt on how masks and face masks can help the average person prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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Going against the CDC-recommended guidelines, which the administration continually points out, Trump Jr. appears to be trying to cast conspiratorial doubts about a life-saving measure.

However, on Tuesday, Trump Jr. also told Fox Business: "I don't think it's too complicated to wear a mask or wash your hands and follow basic hygiene protocols."

Donald Trump Jr.