Name: Do plastic face shields protect as well as masks? The experts weigh in
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Do plastic face shields protect as well as masks? The experts weigh in

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Face shields are fast becoming the hot summer pandemic accessory, spotted more frequently on joggers and workers in restaurants and salons. But are they as effective as in protecting against the coronavirus?Short answer: No.Made of a curved plastic panel that is attached to a headband worn over the face, there is plenty to like about these lightweight accessories. Clear are generally more comfortable to wear than masks that cover your mouth and nose, especially on hot days. They are reusable and easy to clean.If you wear glasses, they will not cause them to fog up. If you are , they make it possible to read lips and see facial expressions.But experts warn there is not enough evidence to support the efficacy of face shields for general use, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend them as a substitute for cloth face coverings.“Face shields offer some great benefits,” said Dr. , a Palo Alto infectious disease doctor and a biosecurity fellow with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “But we’re still learning about them in a public setting.”In a , face shields add an extra layer of protection when worn in combination with masks and other personal protective equipment. They are used during surgery or when intubating COVID-19 patients because they protect doctors and nurses from bone fragments, blood or other body fluids.They can reduce the inhalation of large infectious droplets expelled by a cough or sneeze by 96%, according to a simulation in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene in 2014.But shields do not offer protection from aerosols — tiny virus droplets released when we breathe, talk, sneeze or cough that can hang around in the air long enough to cause infection. Those can still penetrate your nose and mouth through the gap the plastic panel leaves around your face.“It is not known if face shields provide any benefit as source control to protect others from the spray of respiratory particles,” according to the .The most significant risk comes when someone who is infected wears a shield, which allows them to shed infectious virus particles in the atmosphere.Face shields might even give the people who wear them a false sense of security, especially when they wear the plastic coverings without a cloth mask underneath.Health officials in Switzerland traced a recent outbreak among staff at a hotel in the Graubünden region to hospitality workers who relied solely on plastic face shields.“There was not a single infection among employees with a mask,” Rudolf Leuthold, head of the cantonal health department in Graubünden, told , an English-language news site in Switzerland.The main advantage of wearing a face shield is that it prevents people from touching their faces, which could be a source of self-contamination.“One of the biggest problems with a mask is when people are in a meeting and it becomes hard to understand, they take them off,” said Kuppali. That doesn’t happen with the shields. “When you don't have people constantly putting on and taking off masks, it helps.”When worn in conjunction with a mask, face shields also provide an additional layer of protection for the eyes.Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.Coronavirus Pandemic“It's not the primary mode of transmission but it’s potentially a surface you can get an infection,” said Dr. , an ophthalmologist at Stanford Health Care. “That's why people in a health care setting wear eye protection.”Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, echoed that message during a recent television interview with in which he supported the idea that people protect their eyes as well as their noses and mouths.“It's not universally recommended, but if you really want to be complete, you should probably use it if you can,” he said. “You should protect all the mucosal surfaces.”If you do choose to add a face shield to your pandemic outfit, make sure to find one that wraps around your face and extends below the chin. Disposable face shields should be worn only once. Reusable face shields should be cleaned and disinfected after each use.stipulates that those who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask can wear a plastic face shield with a cloth draped across the bottom.The state’s also appears to support the use of enclosed face shields, recommending in its guides to reopening schools that everyone returning to campus wear masks or face shields with the drape.“I think it's important to find out more,” said Kuppalli.Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email:Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

Face shields are fast becoming the hot summer pandemic accessory, spotted more frequently on joggers and workers in restaurants and salons. But are they as effective as in protecting against the coronavirus?Short answer: No.Made of a curved plastic panel that is attached to a headband worn over the face, there is plenty to like about these lightweight accessories. Clear are generally more comfortable to wear than masks that cover your mouth and nose, especially on hot days. They are reusable and easy to clean.If you wear glasses, they will not cause them to fog up. If you are , they make it...

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Aidin Vaziri

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Do plastic face shields protect as well as masks? The experts weigh in

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