In late August 2023, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 steadily climbed. The data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that hospital admissions increased by 19% during the week ending August 19, 2023. Compare that to early June of 2023 when the weekly average of positive COVID-19 tests was about four percent. That figure has since tripled to 13.4%, and the region of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico hit a positivity rate of 18%. 

Ever since states made masks completely optional, the percentage of people wearing masks outside their home in the U.S. decreased. The percentage went from about 57% in January 2022 to around 27% in January 2023, according to data from Covid States Project. Did vaccines have anything to do with that? It’s not for us to say, especially since vaccinated individuals may not be protected against new subvariants. 

Infectious disease specialists still argue that masks can provide good protection in several scenarios. Many people don’t want to wear masks for their own reasons, while others continue to wear masks to protect themselves or other high-risk individuals. Wear a mask or don’t wear a mask, and let everyone do what they feel is right for them. 

COVID-19 Mask Mandates Reappear

Overall COVID-19 indicators are down from this time last year, but some institutions don’t want to take chances. For example, Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia posted on Instagram that it was restarting the mask mandate because of positive COVID-19 cases among students. Becker Hospital Review found eight hospitals that reintroduced face covering rules. Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Hospital in California states that masks are required upon entrance and throughout the duration of your visit. 

Other institutions that recently reinstated mask policies include Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and Auburn Community Hospital in Auburn, New York. UMass Memorial now requires employees to wear masks when visiting emergency room and cancer patients.

Should You Consider Masking Again? 

Infectious disease experts also recommend that you wear masks, or at least take more precautions, in certain situations. Consider wearing a mask in a public space if the following conditions apply to you:

• Going on a big trip in the very near future
• Getting married or attending a wedding soon
• Taking care of someone who is immunocompromised

For people who have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 complications, consider wearing a mask in crowded public spaces. Planes, trains, or enclosed areas with lots of people are breeding grounds for COVID-19. Nobody wants to get COVID-19, so take matters into your own hands and increase protection. 

If You Choose To Mask, Wear It Right

If you wear a mask, don’t wear it as a chin diaper. Make sure that you secure the face covering over your nose and mouth to protect yourself from breathing in contaminated droplets. There are many high-quality masks available these days, so get one that fits well. KN95s and surgical masks offer great protection, while NIOSH-approved respirators offer the highest level of protection, according to the CDC. How much protection you need will depend on you and how much you want to stay safe. It’s hard to say what COVID-19 cases will look like in the coming months, but taking precautions may help limit the spread and keep communities safe.

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COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to decline, and states with mask mandates have started lifting regulations. Some states continue to require face masks in indoor settings, but they lifted outdoor mask mandates. Other states have not had mask regulations for quite some time, which may not fall under the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Because individual state masking policies may go against the CDC’s recommendations, some people may not know what to do.

Recent data from the CDC shows that as of February 16th, 2022, daily new COVID-19 cases in the United States dropped 43% compared to the previous week. Infectious disease specialists confirmed the decrease in cases and remain optimistic about the situation. For this reason, the specialists understand the rationale behind the lifting of mask mandates. Even though states drop mask guidances, the CDC has not adjusted their own recommendations. The recommendation is still that anyone over two years old and not “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccines should continue to wear masks in indoor public places. 

Should You Still Wear A Mask If Your State Lifted Regulations?

This is a decision that only you, and you alone, can make. Some people may not have difficulty making the decision to discard the mask and leave it in the past. Others may grapple with the fear of removing the mask in a public setting, especially an indoor one. The risks and benefits are not merely yours; rather, they also belong to the people around you. For example, you may be perfectly fine, healthy, and vaccinated, and not wearing a mask may be a risk you can take. You have to think about others in your immediate circle, though.

If you regularly interact or live with someone who is immunocompromised, it may be a good idea to continue to wear a mask in public. Although the newer COVID-19 variants may not be as lethal to your health, they are still quite contagious. That means that you may be fine if you contract COVID-19, but the immunocompromised person you see may not be so lucky. Additionally, you may want to wear a mask if you regularly spend time with people who did not get the COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot. Data reports indicate that unvaccinated people have an extraordinary risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. 

Pay Attention To Infection Rates

Regardless of your state’s mask mandates, it may be wise to wear a mask in public if infection rates are high where you live. Although the CDC encouraged masking indoors during the omicron wave, the decision seemed to be very individual. The decision to wear a mask is personal, but if you want to be safe and worry-free, put the mask on and don’t worry about what people think. 

What Type Of Mask Should You Wear?

If you want to continue wearing masks in public areas, a well-fitting, high quality mask is your best bet. A bandana or thin cloth offers very little protection and many researchers found that they were subpar compared to masks with three or more cloth layers. KN95, N95, and KF94 masks offer the best protection around. When you buy them, make sure that they are not counterfeit, as some may only have two layers. If you don’t want to purchase an N95 mask, you can add a filter to cloth masks, or simply wear a surgical mask under your cloth mask for extra protection.

What If You Have The Sniffles?

COVID-19 is not the only virus floating around the general public. People are regularly exposed to flu variants and strains of the common cold, which can be very harmful to certain people. The flu, for example, kills over 30,000 Americans in a typical season, and most of the deaths are older adults or immunocompromised people. Flus and colds are likely transmitted the same was as COVID-19, so if you feel a little sick, you may be shedding the virus into the air. This causes you to infect other people, so if you feel sick wear a mask if you must go out, otherwise stay home. 

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, N95 masks have been the gold standard in regards to protection against COVID-19. At that time, people were discouraged from buying them because health care workers desperately needed them. Nowadays, they are readily available and sought after, due to their ability to block more viral particulates than regular cloth or surgical masks, especially when indoors or in crowded areas. 

The N95 respirator is the most common of seven types of particulate filtering face respirators. The “95” comes from the fact that it filters 95% of airborne viruses. Due to the increased transmissibility of omicron and the new BA.2 sub-variant, more and more people are upgrading to N95s from regular cloth masks. These masks, however, can be quite expensive, so people want the maximum use out of each one. That applies to people who get them for free or to people who purchase them in bulk. 

Can You Reuse An N95 Mask?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can wear an N95 mask up to five times. The number of times you reuse an N95 will depend on where you wear it and how long you wear it. Wearing an N95 mask for brief periods, for example, going to the grocery store or running an errand, can extend the mask’s longevity. Wearing a mask in a crowded indoor environment for a long period of time may require replacement sooner rather than later. Experts also want to note that you should not wear the same mask for five consecutive days.

Over time, masks start to lose their effectiveness, experiencing general wear and tear. Elastic straps can weaken with each wear, which makes it more difficult for the mask to create a protective seal around the face. When there are gaps, it’s easier for unfiltered air to pass through the mask. If you notice that the mask doesn’t fit snugly or the nose wire or straps are damaged, you should discard the mask and wear a new one. The same rule applies if the mass gets dirty, even if you only wore it once or twice. Additionally, you should throw masks out if you regularly cough or sneeze in them. 

How To Clean An N95 Mask

In order to keep the mask in good working order, you have to clean the N95 between each wear. This helps to de-germ the mask and even though it sounds complicated, it isn’t. After wearing an N95 mask, store it in a paper bag for five days before wearing it again. This amount of time is sufficient for any virus particulates to die off. You essentially clean the mask by allowing it to air out in a paper bag. It’s very important that you don’t wash an N95 mask with soap and water. That may seem like an effective way to clean the mask, but it can compromise the mask’s integrity, disrupting the electrostatic charge to reduce filtration effectiveness. 

Treating An N95 With Heat Or UV Light

According to a paper published in 2020, dry-heat decontamination may be an effective way to clean masks, but only once or twice. Using a UV light to clean an N95 is acceptable three times, but the mask’s fit and filtration become compromised after that. Both the heat and UV light help to zap away viruses, which was beneficial during a mask shortage during 2020. Most experts agree that the paper bag method is a lot easier and less expensive, though. 

How To Store N95 Masks

When you aren’t wearing your N95 masks, you should store each one in a separate paper bag, so that they can air out properly. As a general recommendation, you should have three to five masks in your rotation at any given time. Filter new masks into your rotation as you needed. 

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Planes were nearly empty during 2020, but you’re lucky to have an empty seat next to you on a flight, nowadays. Plane travel is essentially the same as it used to be, but the only difference is that people still have to wear face coverings. Face masks are not going anywhere, either. According to TSA, people will have to continue to wear face masks on planes and in airports until at least January 2022. And that’s just an estimate as of now.

Even though planes have great air filtration systems in place, passengers still have to wear masks for everyone’s safety. You shouldn’t just pick out a random mask to wear for fun, though. Much like booking a flight or an entire trip with activities and hotel stays, research is absolutely necessary. Some people throw whatever cloth they can find over their face! Numerous cloth masks prove very ineffective at preventing respiratory droplets from entering or escaping. 

What Should You Look For In A Mask?

Any mask made from a single layer of thin cloth is very ineffective. The bandana is probably the least effective mask, in case any of you enjoy that thin cloth that barely stays on your face. Ideally, a face mask that offers great protection will consist of two to three layers of heavyweight fabric like cotton. According to the American Lung Association, a mask like that can filter 70-79% of particles. Masks with four or more layers can provide 80-90% filtration. It’s also beneficial to get a mask with a nose wire so that it doesn’t continuously fall down your face. Lastly, when it comes to airline travel, you typically cannot have one of those masks with circular vents. Most airlines don’t allow passengers to wear those because of the fact that respiratory droplets can escape through the vents. 

The SupplyAID KN95 Face Mask

This protective face mask is has over 48,000 five-star ratings online. Several studies have proven that these masks are some of the most protective and comfortable masks to wear. It’s possible to get a five-pack for about $10 or less, and they hold up for hours of travel. Some passengers said that they were still comfortable wearing these masks after 10 hours on a plane. 

The Disposable KN95 5-Layer Mask

Five layers of protection means that you can have peace of mind while you travel through the skies in a metal tube with strangers. Many users claim that these masks are comfortable and the fit makes it easy to breathe, even during longer trips. Healthcare workers typically use these masks when they are not working in hospitals. They offer excellent protection and the nose wire makes it so they don’t slip off the nose. 

The Boncare KN95 Mask

This brand makes masks for people with smaller faces, as other masks can slip off more easily. Mask size will vary from face to face, but this one seems to fit comfortably on small- or medium-sized faces. Additionally, users report that the loops on this mask are very comfortable. Some people say that they don’t even realize they are wearing a mask with ear loops! 

N95 Pouch Respirator Mask

This mask can look like a duckbill on a person’s face, but that’s a primary reason why users rate these as the most breathable masks. It holds the edge of the mask farther away from the mouth and nose, creating a pouch that is more comfortable for the user. The nose wire consists of two parallel wires that are designed to smoothly fit on the face. Lastly, the straps that go around the head are less irritating for people who dislike ear loops. Plus, the head straps make the mask fit more snug on the face. 

The Three Layer Cloth Mask

Many companies make three to four layer cloth masks that use cotton or similar heavy fabrics. The inner layer often consists of breathable cotton so as not to make the user uncomfortable. The other two layers consist of woven cotton that provide optimal protection. It’s wise to get these cloth masks with a nose wire so that they can hug the face, leaving very little room for germs to enter. These types of masks, however, will not offer the same protection as the aforementioned masks in this article. 

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