CDC May Tell Us To Start Wearing Masks Too

The CDC is considering recommending that the general public wear face coverings while out during the Coronavirus outbreak. You won’t need the medical kind, as we should leave those for the ones treating the sick. Those DIY cloth masks would work just fine.

Some US doctors have long wanted people to wear masks, contrary to government advice. The CDC’s current advice is to wash hands, obey social-distancing advice, and stay at home. As of this morning- March 31st, the CDC’s COVID-19 web page recommended that only people with symptoms or those caring for them should cover their face.

The CDC is still reviewing the recommendation because they don’t want the public to have a false sense of security and stop social distancing. Other countries have encouraged their entire population to wear a mask anytime out of their homes.

From The Washington Post:

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are considering altering the official guidance to encourage people to take measures to cover their faces amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is an ongoing matter of internal discussion and nothing has been finalized.

Such DIY cloth masks would potentially lower the risk that the wearer, if infected, would transmit the virus to other people. Current CDC guidance is that healthy people don’t need masks or face coverings.

Click HERE for their video explanation why we should me masking up.

An improvised mask, like a bandanna or even construction mask, does not provide protection from getting infected with the virus. It might though limit the amount of respiratory droplets emitted by the person wearing the mask. Epidemiologists believe that infected people can spread covid-19 even when they have no symptoms, and this might slow that transmission down.

I’m going to start wearing a mask I found in the construction supply closet when I go out for food and supplies. Because, if it doesn’t hurt anybody and just might help flatten the curve, then why not?

Susan Saunders 3/31/20

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