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Cloth masks may not provide enough protection as omicron surges, report says
Single-layer cloth masks may not provide adequate protection against the very infectious omicron variant of COVID-19, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.
Many infectious disease experts noted people prefer cloth masks because they are more comfortable and fashionable to wear, but these masks can only block larger droplets of COVID-19, not smaller aerosols or particles that can also carry the virus.
The Mayo Clinic is now requiring all patients and visitors to wear surgical masks, N95 or KN95 masks, so if anyone wears a single-layer, homemade cloth mask or bandana, they will be given a medical-grade one to wear over it, the report said.
Surgical masks block the COVID-19 virus through its polypropylene electrostatic charge characteristics, while N95 masks have a tighter mesh of fibers than surgical or cloth masks with also electrostatic charge characteristics, which allows the mask to be most efficient at blocking inhaled and exhaled particles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, still recommends N95 masks only for health care workers, advising people instead to wear instead cloth masks that have two (or more) layers of fabric that completely cover the face and mouth, fit ‘snugly’ against the sides of the face (without any gaps) that also has a nose wire to prevent air leaking from the top of the mask.
But Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, said, “If everyone is just wearing a cloth mask or just a surgical mask, it won’t make any difference” against the omicron variant.
“If you really want no exposure, you have to wear the right type of mask,” Gandhi added. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY.
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Source : foxnews
