NEWS: Face Masks Protect the Wearer Too According to Updated CDC Brief

If you’re visiting Walt Disney World, you should be aware that masks are required to be worn at all times (including while taking photos), except when actively eating or drinking while stationary.

But even if you’re not visiting Disney World, masks are required to be worn in many (if not all) grocery stores and many other locations to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had indicated that masks are intended to block the spread of virus-laden particles from a person who may be infected to others. But now, the CDC has updated their policies.

As the CDC’s updated Scientific Brief notes, COVID-19 is “transmitted predominantly by respiratory droplets generated when people cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe.” The CDC recommends that people use a mask, specifically a “non-valved multi-layer cloth mask” to prevent the transmission of Coronavirus.

The CDC still notes that masks are primarily intended to reduce the emission of virus-laden droplets from an infected individual to others. But, their updated Scientific Brief now also notes that “Masks also help reduce inhalation of these droplets by the wearer (‘filtration for personal protection’).” In other words, wearing a masks protects others, but it protects the mask wearer too.

The CDC also specifies that the community benefit of wearing a mask is due to the combination of these effects and that protective benefits of wearing masks increases “with increasing numbers of people using masks consistently and correctly.” According to NPR, the CDC is now citing to “growing evidence that even cloth masks can also reduce the amount of infectious droplets inhaled by the wearer.”

The CDC’s scientific brief cites to a number of epidemiological and observational studies about the “real-world” effectiveness of community masking, including a study of an outbreak about the USS Theodore Roosevelt which found that use of face coverings on-board “was associated with a 70% reduced risk.” The CDC’s brief also notes that, according to some analysis, “increasing universal masking by 15% could prevent the need for lockdowns and reduce associated losses of up to $1 trillion or about 5% of gross domestic product.^“

Want to know which mask to use? The CDC has noted that multi-layer cloth masks made of higher thread counts do a better job than single layers with lower thread counts. The CDC notes that more research is needed to expand the evidence base regarding the combinations of materials for masks that maximize blocking and filtering effectiveness, but are also comfortable and durable.

We’ve seen some mask updates from Disney World lately as well, including a restriction on eating or drinking in queue lines. We’ll definitely be on the lookout for more updates regarding mask policies in theme parks and from the CDC, so be sure to come back for all the latest.

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