do face masks protect the wearer too?
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many of us wear face masks for the greater good — if you have covid-19 without knowing it, your mask can help stop you from the spreading the virus to other people. but a new update to mask guidelines from the u.s. centers for disease control suggests the benefits may be a “two-way street.”
on tuesday, the cdc update included information about “filtration for personal protection,” in addition to masks’ primary use of “source control,” or reducing the emission of droplets.
it pointed to research that cloth masks can help protect the wearer as well as those around them. the guidelines now say that “multiple layers of cloth with higher thread counts have demonstrated superior performance compared to single layers of cloth with lower thread counts — in some cases filtering nearly 50 per cent of fine particles less than 1 micron.”
one study focused on the covid-19 outbreak aboard the uss theodore roosevelt, an air carrier with the u.s. navy. the use of face coverings was associated with a 70 per cent reduced risk of getting the virus. it also pointed to seven different studies from across the globe that showed universal masking caused new covid-19 infections to fall significantly.
altogether, the cdc guidelines made a stronger case for universal masking.
“the relationship between source control and personal protection is likely complementary and possibly synergistic, so that individual benefit increases with increasing community mask use,” the guidelines stated. “adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and adequate ventilation.”
in an interview with msnbc news tuesday, dr. anthony fauci, director of the u.s. national institute of allergy and infectious disease, said wearing a mask was a “two-way street.”
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“you protect others. their masks protect you. and your mask also protects you,” he said.
health canada’s current guidelines for non-medical masks and face coverings recommends wearing masks to “protect yourself and others,” though much of the focus in official statements has been on how masks protect other individuals.
“wearing a cloth mask or face covering reduces the chance that others will come into contact with your respiratory droplets. whenever you go out, always have a mask with you in case you need it in a closed space or crowded place,” dr. theresa tam, the chief medical officer of canada, has said.
though there have been cases of anti-mask protests in canada, polling indicates canadians are generally in favour of wearing masks.
in september, an online survey by leger and the association for canadian studies suggested that 83 per cent of respondents thought governments should order people to wear a mask in all indoor public spaces.
monika warzecha is the home page editor at healthing.ca
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