Based on recent studies, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) now recommends “wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission”. This new recommendation is based on the fact that individuals can spread coronavirus before they show any symptoms of the disease. The CDC warns that the virus can spread from person to person when they are in close proximity to each other through coughing, sneezing, and even talking.
The CDC recommendation emphasizes that it is extremely important to continue practicing social distancing by maintaining six feet of separation between individuals, even when wearing a cloth face mask. It is also important to remember that wearing a cloth face mask does not protect you from getting COVID-19, it is intended to protect others from you if you are infected and do not yet show any symptoms. CDC stresses that surgical masks and N-95 masks should be reserved for healthcare workers.
Click here to see U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams demonstrate how to make a cloth face mask.