{"id":2456673,"date":"2020-04-02T20:40:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T02:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-the-coronavirus-and-what-it-cant\/"},"modified":"2020-04-02T20:40:01","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T02:40:01","slug":"what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-the-coronavirus-and-what-it-cant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-the-coronavirus-and-what-it-cant\/","title":{"rendered":"What a face mask can do against the coronavirus 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.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-1024x789.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-1024x789.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-768x592.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/Facemasks-gpi-040220-1536x1183.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/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>Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think there is a lot of benefit, but it\u2019s really important that people understand what the benefit 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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to Gordon, the greatest benefit to face masks isn\u2019t that they keep out viruses, but that they stop people from touching their face as much.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Unlike the N-95 respirator used by health care professionals, which is in short supply, cloth masks and even surgical masks won\u2019t keep out tiny viruses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-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.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\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<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That is important since it\u2019s possible someone might have the new coronavirus and spread it before showing symptoms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And some who get it might not exhibit symptoms at all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As many as 25% 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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While wearing a mask might help, it is not a complete solution to avoiding COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Those include frequent hand washing, avoiding going out in public, and maintaining 6 feet of distance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Any viruses that are aerosolized in a sneeze or cough will get through the mask, Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Even if the mask was made from a tightly weaved material and sealed well to the face, it wouldn\u2019t stop all particles from getting through.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIn a perfect scenario, you may have a mask that can slow down 60 percent of the viruses,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Still, the masks can be beneficial because people won\u2019t be touching their face as often.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Others, inkling Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, have begun urging the government to advise Americans to don homemade masks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">To gain all the benefits of wearing a homemade mask, using tightly-knit materials that isn\u2019t frayed is important.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 breathe through it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Another important factor in homemade masks is what\u2019s called cheek fit, or how well the mask seals to the skin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:tphippen@postindependent.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tphippen@postindependent.com<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/what-a-face-mask-can-do-against-the-coronavirus-and-what-it-cant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/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.Kyle Mills \/ Post Independent The federal government may recommend people wear masks in public, but the surgical and homemade masks gaining [&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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 00:55:56","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":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}