Double-masking can create ‘false sense of protection’: doctor
Posted January 29, 2021 2:28 pm.
Last Updated January 29, 2021 2:29 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The idea of wearing one mask on top of another to improve protection against COVID-19 is gaining some traction, but the head of Fraser Health Authority says there are some issues with “double-masking.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and chief medical adviser to the president, has said it makes sense to double up on masks.
“And that’s the reason why you see people either double-masking or doing a version of an N95,” he said.
“This is a physical covering to prevent droplets and virus to get in,” explains Fauci. “You put another layer on it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective.”
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However, President and CEO of Fraser Health Authority, Victoria Lee says it isn’t that simple.
“We find that this can cause actually an interruption of N95 mask, in terms of protection, or there’s a false sense of protection, as well as an issue with donning and doffing,” she says. “Double-masking in health-care, we have seen some negative impacts of that.”
She says B.C. will review the emerging evidence and adapt policies as more is learned about the effectiveness of double-masking.
The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to recommend the use of three-layer non-medical masks with a filter layer. That has not been updated since November before the new variants of the virus emerged.
According to the agency, masks should be made of two layers that are “tightly woven material fabric, such as cotton or linen,” with the third layer in between made of a “filter-type fabric, such as non-woven polypropylene fabric.”
Meanwhile, in Europe, countries including Austria and France are leaning toward surgical masks over cloth masks.
Germany has made surgical masks mandatory in grocery stores and on public transit.
