The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday recommended every American wear a face mask while in public to protect against contracting coronavirus.
The agency announced that non-medical fabric masks – even scarves or bandannas – could help slow the spread of the infection. State health officials earlier in the week made the same recommendation.
The ever-evolving response to the coronavirus pandemic has amped up the need for keeping everyone safe from the virus.
That means wearing masks.
What is the purpose of a face mask?
It depends on who is wearing it.
Humans have long covered their faces to ward off disease, and medical masks have a long and colorful history .
For most of the public and some healthcare workers, “the main purpose of a mask is not to protect yourself from others, but to protect others from you,” said Bill Padula, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Pharmacy.
Padula, who studies patient and worker safety in hospitals, said medical masks are designed to protect the wearer from contact with an infected patient.
“It isn’t simply thinking about what I have to do for this patient sitting in front of me, but ‘How do I treat this patient, with respect to the next 10 patients who walk into this clinic?’” he said.
In its new guidelines set Friday, the CDC said studies have shown that “a significant portion” of people with the virus have no symptoms and can still spread the virus. “In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.”
Which masks are in short supply?
The highly-contagious coronavirus requires doctors, nurses and other clinicians to take extra precautions when treating patients. With more than 1 million people worldwide infected, there is a critical shortage of N95 masks and surgical masks — the types worn by healthcare providers.
The N95 respirator mask is a polymer cup designed to fit snugly to the face to form a seal, and filters out nearly 95% of airborne particles. The federal government suggests they not be reused or shared.
What about other types of masks, will they work?
In many fire-prone communities around California, homeowners and local community emergency agencies maintain stocks of masks intended to protect the wearer from wildfire smoke.
Some of these are known as P95 masks, often recommended by fire officials for use by residents during wildfires. The masks — sometimes referred to as dust masks — are fitted with a small carbon filter, designed to protect against oil-based particles.
They work well in many applications, but are not considered medical-grade masks and are “not commensurate with current U.S. standards of care,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal guidelines go on to say, however, that P95 masks, alone or in combination with other measures, are acceptable when there are shortages of N95 respirators. “These devices are expected to be suitable alternatives to provide protection during the COVID-19 response when supplies are short,” the CDC guidelines say.
