Biden implores Americans to wear face masks 4:29
(CNN) -
Wearing a mask can help protect you, not just those around you, from the transmission of the coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. English) in a new guide on Tuesday.
This is an update to the previous guide that suggested that the main benefit of wearing masks was to help prevent infected people from transmitting the virus to others.
Biden wants masks to be mandatory in all 50 states.
In these they are not required
Cloth masks act as "source control" to block virus particles exhaled by the user and provide "filtration for personal protection" by blocking incoming infectious droplets from others, the CDC said in its new guidance.
Effect of masks
The new guide cites a series of studies showing that masks reduce the risk of transmitting or contracting the virus by more than 70% in several cases.
One study revealed that the mutual use of masks helped prevent two infected hairstylists from transmitting the virus to 67 clients who were later interviewed.
Another followed infected people who spent more than 10 hours on flights without infecting other passengers when wearing a mask.
In various scenarios, when officials told people to wear a mask, infections and deaths dropped significantly, the CDC noted.
"Adopting universal mask use policies can help avoid future confinements, especially when combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and proper ventilation," the CDC said.
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The agency cited an economic analysis that found that a 15% increase in the universal mask-wearing policy could prevent losses of up to $ 1 trillion.
"The relationship between source control and personal protection is likely complementary and possibly synergistic, with individual benefit increasing with increasing use of masks in the community," the CDC said.
Also fabric
Some cloth masks are almost as good at blocking droplets as surgical masks, the CDC said.
Polypropylene can generate a static charge that captures particles, the CDC said, while silk could repel droplets and be more comfortable.
"Multiple layers of fabric with higher yarn counts have shown superior performance compared to individual layers of fabric with fewer yarns, in some cases filtering almost 50% of fine particles smaller than 1 micron," said the CDC.
"It's a two-way street," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday on MSNBC.
"You protect others, their mask protects you and your mask also protects you."
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