COVID-19 Face Mask Advice, Explained
It’s a seemingly simple question that has divided experts and nations since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak: Should members of the public who aren’t sick use face masks to limit the spread of the disease?
For months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintained that the only people who needed to wear face masks were people who were ill or those who were treating them. That notion stemmed from the idea that basic medical masks do little to protect wearers, and instead primarily prevent sick people from spewing infectious droplets from their noses and mouths. Plus, limited supplies needed to be prioritized for frontline health workers. The World Health Organization agreed.
But some countries took a different tack, suggesting and even requiring the use of masks in certain instances when people were outside their homes. Many scientists, too, began to suggest that a more widespread mask policy might be a good idea.
Then, after days of speculation, President Donald Trump announced on April 3 that the CDC was recommending that people use cloth face coverings in crowded places, even as he emphasized the measure was voluntary and said he would not be following it.
“So with the masks, it’s going to be, really, a voluntary thing,” he said. “You can do it. You don’t have to do
