Since the start of this COVID-19 pandemic, doctors and health experts are advising everyone to follow precautionary measures including social distancing, hand hygiene, and wearing a mask. But the standard surgical mask is not 100% efficient and there is still a possibility to get the virus despite using a mask. An American-based doctor. Dr. Laura McGeorge recommends wearing two masks instead of one to minimize the chances of contracting coronavirus. Wearing two masks will increase the level of protection up to 90%, which is sufficient for safekeeping.
At the start, it looked like that wearing one mask was enough to get protection which is why no one really thought about using two. But after one year and dealing with millions of cases, it is now clear that wearing two masks is better than one.
Also read- Thymus Gland Can Save a Pregnant Woman from a Miscarriage
Dr. Laura McGeorge says that wearing a single mask only works up to 70% which is still not enough especially for the high-risk groups. Wearing two masks to protect against coronavirus is not something that is impractical and it seems like a fairly easier way to lower the contraction risk.
This suggestion has come forward after the new mutated coronavirus strain is in the news. Originally from the UK, this strain has been identified in various parts of the world. It has a higher transmission rate than the original coronavirus which is why it is affecting more and more people. Health experts and researchers find this new variant to be similar to the original one but it is much more contagious.
A typical surgical mask works just fine and doesn’t promise complete protection. However, wearing a surgical mask under a fabric mask also provides up to 90% protection. Layering makes it difficult for the virus to enter and reach the nasal cavity. But wearing two masks instead of one can make this whole experience uncomfortable and snuggly.
Some people are using a vacuum filter added to their fabric masks which are somehow effective as it improves the filtration and efficacy of the mask.
There is no single thing that can guarantee 100% effective protection against the virus but using multiple ways of defense can lower the risks of contracting coronavirus.
Also read- Forgotten Baby Syndrome is a REAL Thing!
Some health experts suggest that using N-95 masks is better than wearing a surgical mask. But if everyone prefers using the N-95 masks, there are high chances that the country will fall into another mask shortage, as happened during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. McGeorge recommends N-95 to be used by healthcare workers as well as the first respondents as it is a professional-grade product. For others, using the basic surgical mask or cloth-made mask or combine these two can work well.
These health experts also suggest using a low-grade surgical mask for example KF-94 and combine them with a high thread count fabric mask. It will make a two-layer easy to use mask which is neither expensive nor a threat to the shortage of masks. Some research studies on KF-94 suggest their efficacy to be in between N-95 and a high thread cloth mask.
The new mutated coronavirus variant is already identified in the US and the health experts urge the public to be watchful of its presence. This time, the virus is deadlier than before but at least there is some information on the virus which may help save millions of people.
