The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised its guidance on mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Before this latest update, the CDC said masks prevented those infected from transmitting the virus to healthy people.
Now the CDC says that masks not only block those who have the virus from getting into the air but also filters potentially contaminated air from getting to an otherwise healthy person, CNN reported.
The CDC called it “source control" when a mask blocks the virus, and a system of “filtration for personal protection," CNN reported.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, likened it to a two-way street.
“You protect others, their mask protects you, and your mask also protects you,” Fauci said in an interview with MSNBC.
The CDC said it lowered the risk of virus transmission by more than 70%.
“Adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and adequate ventilation,” the CDC said in the latest guidance.
The CDC says anyone over the age of 2 should wear a mask in public unless they have breathing issues or are “unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.”
For more on the newest advisement, click here.
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