The New Normal: Should I Still Wear a Face Mask?

In an ideal environment, every citizen has easy access to an FDA-approved face mask. However, this might not be the case everywhere. And with almost every starting to reopen, employees from essential businesses are expected to wear any type of face covering. 

Medical experts have long maintained their stand that wearing a medical mask or a cloth mask will at least prevent the coronavirus from getting you infected. However, face masks are not "silver bullets" that will make you immune from the virus.

What the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps on emphasizing, in addition to wearing masks, is to always maintain a 6-feet distance from one another. And as a leveled up effect of hygiene, experts also advise us to wash our hands thoroughly as this minimizes the spread of the virus.

How effective is your face mask?

Healthcare professionals use an N-95 mask, which might be one of the best forms of protection against the spread of coronavirus. N-95 masks fit your face snugly as if it is custom-made for you, making it more efficient than other types of masks as it provides a tight seal that could prevent small particles from entering your nose and mouth.

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However, they're not that easy to find and are usually reserved for medical health workers. Because of this, chances are you'll probably end up buying a sewn cloth face mask or sew one yourself. 

This is not bad at all. It still serves its purpose of blocking the entry of the virus through your nose and mouth, and experts advise that you should still wear one. 

"In an essence, in an indirect way, you are being protected by wearing a mask. Let's say 90 percent of the people out in the community are wearing masks. They're not spreading the virus," Summa Akron City Hospital infectious disease physician Dr. Shanu Agarwal explained.

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The COVID-19 Prevention Trifecta: Face Masks, Social Distancing, and Eye Protection 

A recent study published in The Lancet discussed that the combination of face masks, physical distancing, and eye protection would prove efficient in controlling the virus, be it in a medical environment or any high-risk setting. 

One should also take into consideration the type of face mask and eye protection that they are wearing as well as be mindful of staying three feet away from another individual. In the study, the authors mentioned that this distance seems to be strongly associated with a significant protective effect, adding that doubling this distance could be more effective. 

Epidemiologist Dr. Holger Schünemann and co-author of the peer-reviewed study added that "the combination of these three measures is the best thing to do against the virus."

If you want to know more about the face mask mandates in your area, you can check this list.

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