The current advice on what homemade face coverings do, how to wear them and how they can and can’t help you prevent COVID-19 compared to N95 masks.
Over the course of a few weeks, nonmedical face masks and coverings have gone from a grassroots campaign for personal use and patients in medical centers to a voluntary health recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to a mandatory order in public places for a growing number of states and counties.
Worn voluntarily, as part of a store requirement or because your local government said so, face masks are now part of daily life for many — on retail checkers and shoppers in grocery stores, on bicyclists, I’ve even seen some people wearing them in their cars. With the coronavirus claiming over 2.5 million cases and over 170,000 deaths worldwide, people are turning to homemade masks in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
Nonmedical masks aren’t an ideal solution, but their advantage is that they’re relatively easy to make and buy. The ability to acquire medical-grade N95 respirator masks and even surgical masks has become critical for essential healthcare workers who repeatedly come into contact with the deadly disease. (The FDA recently issued an emergency protocol for medical institutions to sterilize N95 masks for reuse in medical settings only.)
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Meanwhile, the information about homemade masks can get muddled as the advice changes, and you understandably have questions. Are you still at risk of the coronavirus if you wear a homemade face mask in public? Just how much can a cloth face covering protect you, and what’s the right way to wear one? What makes N95 crucial for medical professionals?
This article is intended to be a resource to help you understand the current situation as presented by organizations such as the CDC and American Lung Association. It isn’t intended to serve as medical advice. If you’re seeking more information about making your own face mask at home or where you can buy one, we have resources for you, too. This story updates frequently as new information comes to light and social responses continue to develop.
