When you wear a mask that helps protect others from Covid-19 infection, you’re protecting yourself, too.
That’s the latest from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which says in a new report that wearing a cloth mask limits the wearer’s exposure to airborne droplets containing the coronavirus.
Previously, the CDC said masks were primarily to reduce the spread of the virus from an already infected person to others nearby.
Wearing a mask is “a two-way street,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an NBC News interview. “You protect others, their mask protects you, and your mask also protects you.”
“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,” the CDC report says.
The new reports says that in some studies, cloth masks were just as effective as surgical masks.
“However, studies are conclusive that multiple layers of cloth with higher thread counts [like N95 masks] are significantly better than single layers of cloth with lower thread counts,” The Hill reports.
This news comes at what could be a crucial moment in the fight against Covid-19, which has infected well over 10 million Americans and killed more than 240,000.
“The U.S. yet again broke its record for the highest daily cases reported on Tuesday at over 136,000 infections,” reports U.S. News, citing the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker. “The seven-day national average of new cases is nearing 120,000.”
Most health experts expect the current surge in Covid cases to peak around Christmas.
