Name: When, why and how to wear a mask during this pandemic, according to the experts
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When, why and how to wear a mask during this pandemic, according to the experts

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This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis story has been updated with new information.It appears face masks are here to stay.The New York Times , and more than half of them predicted that masks will be necessary for at least the next year, if not longer.Colleges are requiring students to when classes start back up in the fall. The World Health Organization that everyone wear a mask while out in public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says organizers of large gatherings should the use of masks at events.Here’s what you need to know:A review funded by the World Health Organization and published in the scientific journal this month concluded that staying at least three feet from others and wearing masks do appear to limit the transmission of the coronavirus. from Cambridge and Greenwich universities found mass adoption of face masks could even prevent a second wave of the disease.Advertisement“Wearing a mask is about protecting your neighbor, not necessarily yourself. But, if we do it universally, then we protect each other."— Jade Pagkas-Bather, an infectious disease expert at the University of ChicagoCovid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, is a respiratory disease that infects the lungs and throat and commonly spreads when people cough, sneeze, breathe and, yes, . When an infected person exhales, they project contagious droplets of the microscopic virus into the air around them. A reusable cloth mask, even if it’s homemade, blunts the spread of those infectious particles. It’s a line of defense, albeit not a perfect one, to stop you from passing the virus to others.An published this month found that 50 percent of Americans said they wear a mask “at all times” when leaving their homes, while 27 percent reported wearing a mask “some, but not all the time.” Only 10 percent of those surveyed said they never wear a mask.Unless you’re hiking on a trail where “it’s just you and nature,” you should have a mask on, said Jade Pagkas-Bather, an infectious-disease expert and clinician at the University of Chicago. There’s a “collective responsibility” to wear a mask in public, Pagkas-Bather said. People can become infectious before exhibiting symptoms of the virus, and some never have any of the common symptoms but still test positive.Advertisement“Wearing a mask is about protecting your neighbor, not necessarily yourself. But, if we do it universally, then we protect each other,” Pagkas-Bather said over the phone.The Washington Post spoke to half a dozen epidemiologists and infectious-disease experts about when to wear a mask and how the face coverings play a role in curtailing the spread of the novel coronavirus. Many of them stressed that masks are not a be-all-end-all solution — covering your mouth and nose helps, but people should continue washing their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If you’re traveling and you won’t be around running water, be sure to pack some hand sanitizer.There’s a reason public health officials recommend such stringent mask policies in public, with few exceptions. Epidemiologists understand how the virus commonly travels, and there are clear examples of events where one person ends up infecting dozens. Last week, there was at a table tennis club in South Korea. These incidents often happen inside where people aren’t wearing masks, but there’s no definitive research to say when a person is absolutely out of harm’s way.Advertisement“There’s not like a magic number or distance that we know of, at least, where once you get beyond radius ‘X’ you’re golden,” said Kimberly Powers, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina.Instead, people should try to mitigate the risks they can control by using what we do know about the disease, Powers said.Masks might have helped curb the spread of the virus at a hair salon in Missouri, according to a by the CDC. In May, two hair stylists with covid-19 worked with 139 clients before they received positive test results for the virus. Both the stylists and their customers wore masks during their interactions, and none of the clients appear to have contracted the disease.The CDC recommends covering your face while out in public, but the options range from wearing simple bandannas to buying surgical masks. Children younger than 2 and anyone who already has trouble breathing .AdvertisementThe general public does not need to use N95 respirators, the personal protective equipment (PPE) used in hospitals that provide a tight seal around the mouth and nose, according to Saskia Popescu, an infectious-disease epidemiologist from George Mason University. Health-care workers are at higher risk for exposure because they’re in contact with infected patients for “prolonged periods of time,” but many people will never need to protect against that “level of exposure,” Popescu said.Any surgical or reusable cloth mask you buy should cover your face from the bridge of your nose to your chin, Popescu said.“You want it to be snug but not really digging into your skin,” Popescu added.Experts recommend putting on a mask before you leave your house, apartment or car and enter a public space. Try not to fidget with your mask or take it off while outside, because the front of the mask may already be contaminated.AdvertisementOnce you’re back home, remove the masks using the straps or elastic on the back of your head and promptly wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. The CDC also advises washing face coverings with warm water, detergent and the highest heat setting on a dryer, if possible. Because of this, you’ll want to use cloth masks that stand up to frequent washes.As the summer heats up, states are beginning to lift restrictions on businesses and restaurants, but Popescu said that doesn’t mean you should leave your mask at home. Instead, keep an eye on the number of cases reported in your area by public health officials.“Just because a state is reopening does not mean they have no covid cases,” Popescu said. “You still need to be really vigilant about wearing your mask and social distancing, staying home when you’re sick.”Face shields are the plastic visors commonly used by nurses and doctors that provide a physical barrier between the face and any infectious particles that may travel with a cough or sneeze.AdvertisementThere’s an emerging market of face shields for public use on and , but the CDC that people wear face shields as a substitute for a cloth mask.“It is not known if face shields provide any benefit as source control to protect others from the spray of respiratory particles,” the CDC .The national health agency went on to note, using bold capital letters, that the plastic visors are “NOT” recommended for newborns or infants. In April, photos of newborns wearing face shields from a hospital in Thailand , a cute symbol of these unprecedented times.Masks have been tried and , said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California at San Francisco, but there aren’t that many studies on the effectiveness of face shields. simulated coughs in a lab to measure how much a face shield can protect someone from those around them. There’s even less research on whether a face shield is effective at containing infectious viral particles you may be unknowingly exhaling.Advertisement“It likely has a benefit. The benefit is not very well quantified,” said Emily Sickbert-Bennett, the director of infection prevention at the University of North Carolina Medical Center. “They aren’t designed to really fit against your face as tightly as masks do.”Masks are the best option for the public, but face shields are a viable choice for people who can’t otherwise wear a mask, Chin-Hong said. The most important part of infection control is protecting your face from any larger droplets that the people around you may release into the air, Chin-Hong said, calling it the “biggest bang for your buck.”“The name of the game is really about risk reduction,” Chin-Hong said.And the plastic shields make it less likely that people will touch their faces throughout the day, an added benefit, Sickbert-Bennett said.AdvertisementMichael Edmond, a professor of infectious disease at the University of Iowa, calling for public adoption of face shields to limit the spread of the virus. Edmond said current public health advisories are extrapolating from existing studies but there needs to be more research directly comparing options such as masks and plastic shields. Edmond told The Post that he hopes we’ll have a better understanding of the effectiveness of face shields in the coming months.The eyes, the mouth and the nose are the three key ways the respiratory virus can get into your body, Edmond said. What matters is that people adopt a solution they’re willing to use to mitigate the risk of contracting the disease.“The best face covering is the one that people will wear,” Edmond told The Post. “If we ultimately determine that masks are better, but nobody wears them, it doesn’t really matter.”Read more: CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESThe BriefingDon’t miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis story has been updated with new information.It appears face masks are here to stay.The New York Times , and more than half of them predicted that masks will be necessary for at least the next year, if not longer.Colleges are requiring students to when classes start back up in the fall. The World Health Organization that everyone wear a mask while out in public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says organizers of large gatherings should the use of masks at events.Here’s what you need to know:A review...

When, why and how to wear a mask during this pandemic, according to the experts

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