hy should you wear a mask?
1. They reduce viral transmission (if worn correctly).
“Surgical masks and cloth coverings can reduce viral transmission by 70% if everyone wears them and wears them correctly over [their] nose and mouth,” Purvi Parikh, an allergist with Allergy & Asthma Network and clinical assistant professor at the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine previously told Health, emphasizing the importance of not only wearing a mask, but wearing it properly. According to the CDC, that means washing your hands before putting on your face mask and making sure it covers your nose and mouth once in place. It should also fit snugly against your face and remain there until you leave a public setting.
2. They prevent asymptomatic spread.
According to the CDC, an estimated 50% of transmission happens before people develop any COVID-19 symptoms. Wearing a mask is an easy way to reduce the risk of unknowingly spreading the infection, he says, but it’s not a panacea—people also need to observe social distancing rules and practice good hand hygiene. “Masks don’t take the place of these other measures,” Eric Westman, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University previously told Health.
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"Masks are acts of altruism; you are not protecting yourself by wearing a mask," Rochelle Walensky, MD, chief of the infectious diseases division at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School told reporters during an April 3 briefing held by the Infectious Diseases Society of American. Masks prevent people who are asymptomatic from spreading the virus to others.
It’s also worth noting most cloth face coverings alone won’t totally prevent you from contracting the novel coronavirus. (Only an N95 design, which should be reserved for medical professionals, provides that level of protection.) Rather, face masks prevent the wearer from infecting others when asymptomatic, making it just as important a precaution as social distancing and washing your hands.
3. You're protecting others from illness.
Researchers note that mask-wearing is most effective when it's a communal effort. Consider the fact that the U.S. death toll could reach 211,000 by September 26, according to the CDC, up from the projected 180,000 by a group of Washington researchers. However, it's also been predicted that about many of these deaths could be pr
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