{"id":1319218,"date":"2020-04-01T18:23:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T00:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=995225"},"modified":"2020-04-02T14:46:54","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T20:46:54","slug":"what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-covid-19-and-what-it-cant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-covid-19-and-what-it-cant\/","title":{"rendered":"What a face mask can do against COVID-19 and what it can\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"789\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-1024x789.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-1024x789.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-768x592.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-1536x1183.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-2048x1578.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Monica Mull and Kelly Williams, with LIFT-UP, wear homemade masks as they distribute food Wednesday at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Rifle. Many residents are sewing their own masks as a percaution against COVID-19.<\/strong><br \/><em>Facemasks-gpi-040220<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The federal government may recommend people wear masks in public, but the surgical and homemade masks gaining popularity offer only limited protection.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cI think there is a lot of benefit, but it\u2019s really important for people to understand what the benefits is, and also what the limitations are,\u201d said Sarah Gordon, a Glenwood Springs native and consultant with Intrinsic Environment, Health &amp; Safety.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the N-95 respirator used by health care professionals, which is in short supply, cloth masks or even surgical masks don\u2019t do much to protect the wearer against contracting COVID-19, Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe face masks don\u2019t filter out the particle size of the virus. Viruses are tremendously tiny, and standard fabric is not going to filter out the virus,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row gspi-donation p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/pi-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/donate\/?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=news%20article&amp;utm_campaign=donation\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If someone lined up 1,000 microscopic COVID-19 virus particles end to end, it would be about the width of a human hair.<\/p>\n<p>The novel coronavirus is the cause of the current pandemic, which breeds in the upper respiratory tract (nose, throat and mouth) and attacks the lungs.<\/p>\n<p>While most facemasks won\u2019t protect the wearer from contracting the disease, it can help an unwitting carrier of the virus from spreading it to others.<\/p>\n<p>One of the ways wearing a mask could help slow the spread of disease, according to Gordon, is that people won\u2019t touch their face as frequently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe benefit in wearing the facemask, for the general public, is that hopefully now that sneeze or sniffle or whatever it is, didn\u2019t end up on their hands where they\u2019re now going to touch a grocery cart, or a doorknob, or an elevator button,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p>That is important since it\u2019s possible someone might have the new coronavirus and spread it before showing symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>And some who get it might not exhibit symptoms at all.<\/p>\n<p>As many as 25 percent of people with COVID-19 might not have any symptoms, but could still spread the disease, CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield said Tuesday in an interview with a National Public Radio affiliate.<\/p>\n<p>While wearing a mask might help, it is not a complete solution to avoiding COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>In Gordon\u2019s work, which involves advising laboratories on protecting researchers from pathogens and other hazards, personal protective equipment is only part of how people stay safe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re going to wear a homemade mask, you cannot let your guard down for all the other hygiene practices we all need to be doing,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p>Those include frequent hand washing, avoiding going out in public, and maintaining 6 feet of distance.<\/p>\n<p>Any viruses that are aerosolized in a sneeze or cough will get through the mask, Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p>Even if the mask was made from a tightly weaved material, was sealed well to the face, it wouldn\u2019t stop all particles from getting through.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a perfect scenario, you may have a mask that can slow down 60 percent of the viruses,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the masks can be beneficial because people won\u2019t be touching their face as often.<\/p>\n<p>The CDC so far has not advised the general public to wear facemasks. But it has recommended that people who are sick wear masks.<\/p>\n<p>Others, inkling Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, have begun urging the government to advise Americans to don homemade masks.<\/p>\n<p>To gain all the benefits of wearing a homemade mask, using tightly-knit materials that isn\u2019t frayed is important.<\/p>\n<p>Some do-it-yourself mask patterns have an outer layer, an inner layer and a pocket for disposable filters \u2014 Gordon says putting a HEPA vacuum filter in a mask pocket could help, as long as it\u2019s not too difficult to breath through it.<\/p>\n<p>Another important factor in homemade masks is what\u2019s called cheek fit, or how well the mask seals to the skin.<\/p>\n<p>To ensure that air doesn\u2019t flow between the mask and the skin, it should be as tight as possible. That\u2019s why elastic bands aren\u2019t ideal, since it can lose its tautness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a good idea to sew wire in the mask where it goes over the nose, to squeeze it into a shape that fits the face.<\/p>\n<p>Gordon advises people store masks in a plastic bag, until they can be washed with soap and water. Having two masks so that one can be laundered while another is available for use is a good idea, Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"mailto:tphippen@postindependent.com\">tphippen@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-covid-19-and-what-it-cant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monica Mull and Kelly Williams, with LIFT-UP, wear homemade masks as they distribute food Wednesday at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Rifle. Many residents are sewing their own masks as a percaution against COVID-19.Facemasks-gpi-040220 The federal government may recommend people wear masks in public, but the surgical and homemade masks gaining popularity offer only limited [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1319218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 21:49:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1319218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319234,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319218\/revisions\/1319234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1319218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1319218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1319218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}