As doctors and health experts have become more familiar with the characteristics of disease, their advice has changed on how people can protect themselves. Such is the case with COVID-19 and wearing a mask or facial covering. At the beginning of the pandemic, when mask supplies were very low, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that only health care professionals wear masks. As doctors and researchers learned more about the coronavirus, they came to change their recommendations about wearing masks. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more information about wearing a mask in the time of COVID-19…
Doctors have learned that people who aren’t showing any symptoms can spread the virus as they move about in public. Cloth masks can help protect others nearby by preventing contaminated droplets from being dispersed by the wearer when breathing or talking.
“Masks work. We’ve known this for over a hundred years. Masks reduce the transmission of virus, bottom line.”
Dr. Troy Pennington, an emergency room physician at Arrowhead Medical Center, said there have been more than 170 studies that have been published recently that show that masks and facial coverings reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control notes that wearing a mask is not a substitute for handwashing and social distancing, which are effective measures to reduce risk. And first and foremost, staying at home is still the best strategy for preventing the spread of coronavirus.
“Coughs and sneezes spread diseases; please mask it.”
