Coronavirus-Related Face Masks Protect the Wearer, Too: CDC Says in Updated Guidance

Fox News reports that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance on coronavirus-related face masks to include protection for the wearers. According to the agency, research supports community masking to reduce virus transmission, especially with more than half of transmissions estimated to come from asymptomatic people. "Studies demonstrate that cloth mask materials can also reduce wearers' exposure to infectious droplets through filtration, including filtration of fine droplets and particles less than 10 microns," the CDC added. Masks with multiple cloth layers can more effectively inhibit tiny, potentially virus-laden particles from penetrating and exposing the wearer to infection. The CDC said these masks can "in some cases filter nearly 50 percent of fine particles less than 1 micron." The agency further cited a case in which universal mask wearing prevented two coronavirus-infected, symptomatic hairstylists from transmitting the virus to at least 67 clients. Moreover, 1,000 people in Thailand who wore masks during "high-risk exposures" reduced their odds of infection by 70 percent.