Wearing A Mask In Public Still The Best Way To Prevent Spread Of The Coronavirus

With growing national concerns about a second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, research shows that wearing facemasks in public can limit the spread of the disease that has infected more than 2 million people in the United States.

As new Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to rise across the United States for the first time since May, many state health officials are once again recommending a combination of social distancing and avoiding large gatherings. Yet the single best way to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus remains wearing a facemask and facial coverings in pubic as States like Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina all reporting a spike in new cases.

With many States staying committed to reopening restaurants, businesses, parks, and swimming pools as June welcomes Summer, it’s clear that avoiding a second wave of COVID-19 is in the air but with 25,000 new cases reported nationally in recent days, is it too late?

According to the US Surgeon General, wearing a facemask in public provides a less asymptomatic viral spread given that people without symptoms could unknowingly transmit Covid-19. Whereas some believe that having to wear a mask in public infringes on their personal freedoms, it’s clear that face coverings primarily prevent people with the virus from infecting others. In Florida, alone some believe that a simple recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to wear a mask in pubic just isn’t enough and that the State needs an executive order requiring wearing of facemasks. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo even took to chastising law enforcement who aren’t wearing facemasks while engaging with civil unrest and on-going protests in response to the George Floyd tragedy. What was once viewed as the epicenter of the Coronavirus during the height of the pandemic, NYC has shown a vast improvement with falling daily death tolls and a decrease of hospitalizations.

Some of the more compelling news comes from a new British study out of Cambridge and Greenwich Universities suggests facemasks may be even more important than originally thought in preventing future outbreaks of the new coronavirus.

The numbers really tell the story. Without wearing a mask, the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is 17.4% wiith an N95 respirator or face mask, that number drops to 3.1% according to studies.

"Wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission, and this inexpensive practice, in conjunction with simultaneous social distancing, quarantine, and contact tracing, represents the most likely fighting opportunity to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to the development of a vaccine", reported researchers from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

As studies, research, and news shows that wearing a mask in public is still the most effective way to stop person-to person spread of the Coronavirus, CovCare is here to ensure the general public, healthcare professionals, essential workers, and first responders are all protected.

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