This is a rapidly evolving situation. Contact your local health officials and resources such as those for the most recent information Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regularly. You can find a guide with state health departments here. This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
© David Jaewon O
Keep yourself and others safe with a simple adjustment.
- The current recommendations of the CDC on effective mask wear are to wear a multi-layered mask or to wear one disposable mask under a cloth mask. The CDC also says that you should choose a mask or masks that fit your face well.
- The new recommendations come from new research, and experts emphasize that one high-quality, well-fitted mask, such as a KN95, works as well as two well-fitted cloth masks.
- Do you want to ensure that your mask fits best? A new video from UNC Health shows a trick that can improve the fit of a mask with ruffles.
It has been almost a year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, which led the United States to implement widespread closures and mandates with mask bearers. As businesses start, masks are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Masks not only keep others primarily safe, they can also help keep you healthy.
The CDC recommends that you wear one mask with several layers or two masks – one disposable mask under a cloth mask – and keep a distance of at least six feet from others not in your immediate household, to reduce the spread. of COVID-19 and other diseases, such as influenza.
A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that changing an ear mask can be slightly stricter on the face to make it up to 20 percent more effective. The better the fit, the better the filtration.
UNC Health has posted a video on its YouTube channel featuring Emily Sickbert-Bennett, Ph.D., Director of Infection Prevention at UNC Hospitals, showing this simple trick that can help tighten the overflow mask. (Sickbert-Bennett was one of the authors of the recent study on the effectiveness of masks.)
This technique improves the fit of a surgical mask, according to the CDC. As shown above, simply tie the ruffles of the mask where it joins the edge of the mask, then fold and stick the unnecessary material under the edges.
Join Runner’s World + for more tips on staying healthy!
As Runner’s World previously reported, you should be running or training in areas where you can be alone or keep at least six feet between you and others to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. You should also wear a mask or take a mask with you if there is a situation where you encounter others and cannot maintain social distance.
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