How to Make Homemade Face Masks More Effective —and How to Wear Them Right

Five months after coronavirus took root in the U.S., face masks remain one of the most controversial and confusing parts of the pandemic. Changing public-health messaging hasn’t helped. In March, when personal protective equipment (PPE) was running short, top U.S. public-health officials told Americans that the general public did not need masks because they don’t fully block respiratory particles that spread COVID-19, such as those in a sick person’s cough or sneeze. Most masks are best at preventing particles from getting into the air where others might inhale them, so, at first, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that only sick people wear them. But as research progressed, studies showed compelling evidence that even asymptomatic people could infect others with coronavirus—which meant anyone could be unknowingly contagious, and everyone should be trying not to breathe on other people. As science evolved—and a dire PPE shortage eased—the CDC revised its guidance to suggest that everyone wear fabric masks in public. President Donald Trump has also sent mixed messages on masks. He has called wearing masks “patriotic,” but has also opted not to wear them during public appearances or require them at his rallies. Other politicians have also resisted mandates on mask wearing—Georgia Governor Brian Kemp even sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms after she required them in public. (He later d...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news