CDC Now Recommends Double Masks To Help Protect Against COVID-19
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines this Wednesday that include wearing well-fitting face masks or two masks at a time to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
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As CNN notes, researchers found that putting a cloth mask over a medical procedural mask, such as a disposable blue surgical mask, can block 92.5% of potentially infectious particles from escaping. This would create a tighter fit and eliminating leakage.
“These experimental data reinforce CDC’s prior guidance that everyone 2 years of age or older should wear a mask when in public and around others in the home not living with you,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, told a White House briefing. “We continue to recommend that masks should have two or more layers, completely cover your nose and mouth, and fit snugly against your nose and the sides of your face,” Walensky added.
What also is recommended is knotting and tucking the mask for a tighter fit, which can help eliminate those gaps. They found that this technique can reduce a person’s exposure to viral particles. “If two people are both wearing either the knotted and tucked surgical masks, or if both are double-masked, exposure to viral particles was cut by more than 95 percent,” NBC News notes.
“We always thought those surgical masks were going to be good,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, “but if you do this knot and tuck, this study shows that it can block as much virus as an N95.”
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