Should the average person wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic?
Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s newly-appointed coronavirus czar, discussed that question during a news briefing today.
“The finding that is now starting to get people interested in wearing masks is the idea that not only coughing but also with speaking and even throat clearing there can be a small amount of droplets that are produced that might be infectious,” Marsh said.
The best method to avoid that kind of infection is staying at least six feet away from all but close family units, Marsh said.
But those who have to go out for groceries or other necessities might consider wearing facial covering, he agreed.
“The benefit of wearing something over your face is less for you, to prevent yourself from getting sick,” Marsh said, “but to reduce the droplet spread in case somebody’s sick and doesn’t realize it yet.”
He suggested that could be a scarf or a bandanna.
“If you wear something over your face,” he said, “don’t buy a medical-grade mask because we won’t those for our first responders.”
Marsh’s comments were prompted by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who suggested residents should wear masks when out in public. He was referring not to surgical masks, but instead to homemade face coverings or bandannas when out performing essential tasks such as food shopping.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said this week that the federal coronavirus task force is seriously considering guidance that people should wear masks to help slow the spread of the virus.
“Because if, in fact, a person who may or may not be infected wants to prevent infecting someone else, one of the best ways to do that is with a mask. So perhaps that’s the way to go,” Fauci said.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper sent out a statement saying he believes mask guidelines are imminent.
“After suffering from no national policy concerning the wearing of face masks in public and receiving medical advice from the federal government to the opposite; I believe we will hear from the CDC and various healthcare officials at the federal level that facial covering is NOW beneficial,” Carper stated.
“We must be careful not to deprive a nurse, a doctor, or any first responder of a certified respirator, or for that matter a sanitary surgical mask.”
Meanwhile, Marsh said modeling shows the social distancing efforts in West Virginia are paying off so far.
West Virginia’s infection rate continues to be about 4 percent, he said. That figure is derived from dividing positive tests by the overall number of tests.
“Although following these trends can be useful, the future will be written by what we keep doing — not by what we’ve done to date,” Marsh said.