The Centers for Disease Control updated their face mask guideline policies Wednesday following new research that proves wearing two masks can also provide double the protection.
The findings show that ‘double-masking’ can reduce a person’s exposure to potentially infectious particles by up to 96.4 percent–more than twice that of a single mask.
The study also reported that wearing a tight-fitting, knotted medical mask can reduce an uninfected person’s exposure to potentially infectious particles by 95.9 percent.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been personally promoting double-masking for weeks, spoke with the White House COVID-19 Response Team this morning about the findings in a briefing.
According to this PBS report, however, the study did have limitations.
The researchers used one brand of surgical mask and one kind of cloth mask, and it’s not clear if results would be the same with every product. But it echoes some earlier research that suggests two masks are better than one.
“The first challenge is to get as many as people as possible masking. And then for those that do mask, to help them get the best benefit out of that mask,” the CDC’s Dr.John Brooks said.
The trend of double-masking has been generating buzz since Inauguration Day, when attendees like the poet Amanda Gorman and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg were seen spotting surgical masks underneath their cloth masks.