Wearing Masks Must Be a National

Policy
Even homemade face coverings provide some protection, especially when many
people who have the coronavirus show no symptoms.

By Aaron Schildkrout, Bill Walczak, Dara Kass and Brian Jack

 
The most important new policy the government can implement to contain the spread
of Covid-19 is to immediately recommend that everyone wear masks or face-
coverings in public — #masksforall.

Health officials have already encouraged people to wear masks if they are showing
symptoms of the disease. Particularly since 25 to 50 percent of people with the virus
are asymptomatic, it would be best for everyone to be wearing a mask or face-
covering when in public to protect others.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said
Monday that the agency was reconsidering its position that ordinary healthy citizens
did not need to wear masks. The mayor of Los Angeles recommended on Wednesday
night that all people wear face coverings in public. These are welcome, if belated,
moves.

Medical professionals, epidemiologists and concerned citizens across the country

need to tell their mayors, governors and congressional representatives that wearing
masks or face coverings should be government policy now.

Universal mask mandates should not undermine hospital workers’ need for personal
protective equipment. Whatever high-grade N-95 masks and less protective surgical
marks that can be obtained — both are in limited supply — should go to medical
workers first.

As many surgical masks as possible should then be given to workers in essential jobs,
particularly in places with shelter-in-place rules. The public can use homemade face
coverings. As the supply of N-95 and surgical masks increases and hospitals are fully
outfitted, surgical masks should be distributed to the general public.

The medical and epidemiological data supporting mask use is not conclusive, but it is
persuasive enough to warrant this policy, with little to recommend against it.

Scientists are not completely sure of all the ways that the Covid-19 virus is
transmitted, but in a randomized control trial, participants who were told to use a
surgical mask, and did so, were 80 percent less likely to contract respiratory illness.
Stanford Medicine says vacuum cleaner bags, antimicrobial pillowcases, and other
materials are reasonably effective substitutes for medical masks. Various studies
point to similar results for those homemade face coverings, particularly when
combined with hand-washing hygiene.

Even if masks don’t completely protect each individual, they could considerably
reduce the spread of the virus. Even if the coverings only reduced transmission to
and from each wearer by half, that would reduce the chance of spread by 75 percent.
So face coverings could reduce the exponential growth of new infections and avert
disaster in America’s hot spots.

Because scientists cannot rule out with complete confidence that this coronavirus can
be spread easily in the air, even outdoors, we believe it’s most prudent to promote
face covering in all public settings. And to state the obvious, mask wearing and face
covering is not a substitute for shelter-in-place, hand-washing and other protective
measures.

Those wearing a mask may be stigmatized, since they might be presumed to be sick,
given current government guidance. A national policy on face coverings for all, even
those who have had the disease, like our co-author Dr. Kass, could eliminate that
stigma. Wearing masks is a way we can all protect each other.

People should be strictly warned that wearing a face covering doesn’t let you ignore
social distancing rules. That would be counterproductive.

Wearing masks will not only reduce viral spread, it would also help us return to work,
get back to school, and avoid what could be a devastating second wave of the
coronavirus.

While ensuring that all health workers have full protective equipment, and as many
essential workers as possible have medical masks, President Trump, federal health
officials, governors and mayors should call on Americans in well-populated cities and
towns to wear face coverings or masks in all public areas. (Government officials
should start by wearing masks themselves, particularly in media appearances, to
reduce the stigma and encourage use.)

Authorities should provide detailed instructions for how to make face coverings from
materials in our homes, and how to safely use them. Citizens who want to help fight
the coronavirus could organize efforts to make and distribute face coverings. Popular
figures who are posting images of themselves on social media should be wearing
face-coverings.

By urging Americans to wear face coverings in public, our leaders could help save
thousands of lives and hasten our collective recovery.