Wear a Mask. No, Don’t Wear a Mask. Wait: Yes, Wear a Mask.
When it comes to whether everyday citizens like you and me should cover our faces, experts are divided. Here’s why — and what to actually do.
The only thing moving faster than the novel coronavirus, it seems, is the guidance on who should be wearing face masks.
On February 29, which was somehow only a little over a month ago, the US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, tweeted:
Despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating (in 2006!) that in the event of a severe influenza pandemic, at least 1.5 billion medical masks would be needed by the healthcare sector and an additional 1.1 billion would be needed by the public [emphasis mine], the US was now facing a severe shortage: In early March, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) estimated that US healthcare workers would need 3.5 billion respirator masks to fight a full-blown coronavirus pandemic over the next year, only 1 percent of which was available in DHHS’s Strategic National Stockpile (the department has since ordered 500 million more after initial attempts were undercut).
In response to the shortage, the CDC issued new guidance, stating that if face masks were unavailable, healthcare professionals “might use homemade masks (e.g., bandana, scarf) for care of patients with Covid-19 as a last resort” — ideally in combination with a face shield, as the efficacy of cloth masks against the coronavirus is unknown.
Since then, Americans — and businesses like New Balance, GIR, and Orucase — have rolled up their sleeves and started making their own face masks. The majority will be donated to healthcare workers, but everyday citizens are adopting the practice, too: My Instagram feed is full of pictures of people wearing DIY masks, handkerchiefs, and scarves wrapped around their faces, despite the fact that the CDC still advises against wearing one unless you’re sick or caring for someone…
