The CDC is advising people to wear masks in public to stem the spread of coronavirus. President Donald Trump in making the announcement repeatedly stressed that the recommendation is voluntary. He also stressed that the CDC is not calling for Americans to wear medical grade masks. Ref. USAToday.
Wearing Masks During A Pandemic (Hover)
I just went to the store and saw a few people wearing masks. I did not. I suppose I could make some, but I am definitely not going to buy any. That's only because I understand there are people who need it more than me. For those who have to go outside and/or interact with people, I think they need the masks more. As for me, I'm home 99% of the day, so I don't really need it.
The encouragement to use CLOTH masks all of a sudden is not to keep the virus from getting you but in case you already have a virus that you won't cough or sneeze it outward. Just look at the chart above. Its clear that cloth masks and some others do very little if anything to keep a virus out.
Surgical masks likely good for most COVID-19 treatment. A systematic review of four randomized controlled trials on masks done between 1990 and last month shows the use of medical masks did not increase viral respiratory infection or clinical respiratory illness. Source 2l.
Surgeons help create new process for disinfecting and reusing N95 masks. Amid shortages of personal protective equipment due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a St. Louis health care system has implemented a process to disinfect disposable N95 respirator masks that allows health care workers to reuse their own mask for up to 20 cycles. Source 3i.
Heating could be the best way to disinfect N95 masks for reuse. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, N95 face masks have been in short supply. Health care workers, in particular, desperately need these masks to protect themselves from the respiratory droplets of infected patients. But because of the shortage, many have to wear the same mask repeatedly. Now, researchers have tested several methods for disinfecting N95 materials, finding that heating them preserves their filtration efficiency for 50 cycles of disinfection. Source 6z.
A replaceable, more efficient filter for N95 masks. Researchers have developed a membrane that can be attached to a regular N95 mask and replaced when needed. The filter has a smaller pore size than normal N95 masks, potentially blocking more virus particles. Source 4y.