Shiloh
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Source: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/c...sking-standard-to-curb-omicron-spread-4876942
Experts call for N95s to become new masking standard to curb Omicron spread
TORONTO — When Linsey Marr boarded a bus in Lake Louise, Alta., earlier this week, she was floored to find out that she had to take off her N95 respirator and put on a medical mask for the ride.
Canadian Press
about an hour ago
TORONTO — When Linsey Marr boarded a bus in Lake Louise, Alta., earlier this week, she was floored to find out that she had to take off her N95 respirator and put on a medical mask for the ride.
The Virginia Tech engineering professor, who studies viruses in the air, said the policy defies scientific reason, because respirators offer far more protection than a medical mask, both to the wearer and others around them.
"It would be like asking someone to take off their seatbelt, and to use this piece of rope to tie themselves to the seat instead," Marr said by phone.
A number of Canadians responded to her tweet about the incident saying they'd run into similar resistance while wearing respirators at hospitals and other health-care settings.
As the rise of the Omicron variant upends Canada's COVID-19 response, experts say medical mask mandates should not only be abolished, but wearing respirators should become the norm.
"It's even more critical now to protect yourself and others that we wear high performance masks, which means they filter out particles well, and they fit well."
Both medical masks and respirators are made out of materials that can filter out particles of all sizes, said Marr. The main difference comes down to fit — respirators are designed to form a seal around the face, while medical masks often leave gaps under the cheeks or chin that allow very small particles to seep through.
These leaks lead to significantly less protection against the novel coronavirus, she said. A well-fitted respirator offers more than 95 per cent protection, she said. For medical masks, effectiveness ranges from 20 per cent to 90 per cent depending on how snug it is.
If hospitals or other facilities want to standardize what masks people wear because of concerns about quality control and counterfeits, Marr offered a simple solution: either let people wear a medical mask under their respirators, or offer everyone a N95...
Experts call for N95s to become new masking standard to curb Omicron spread
TORONTO — When Linsey Marr boarded a bus in Lake Louise, Alta., earlier this week, she was floored to find out that she had to take off her N95 respirator and put on a medical mask for the ride.
Canadian Press
about an hour ago
TORONTO — When Linsey Marr boarded a bus in Lake Louise, Alta., earlier this week, she was floored to find out that she had to take off her N95 respirator and put on a medical mask for the ride.
The Virginia Tech engineering professor, who studies viruses in the air, said the policy defies scientific reason, because respirators offer far more protection than a medical mask, both to the wearer and others around them.
"It would be like asking someone to take off their seatbelt, and to use this piece of rope to tie themselves to the seat instead," Marr said by phone.
A number of Canadians responded to her tweet about the incident saying they'd run into similar resistance while wearing respirators at hospitals and other health-care settings.
As the rise of the Omicron variant upends Canada's COVID-19 response, experts say medical mask mandates should not only be abolished, but wearing respirators should become the norm.
"It's even more critical now to protect yourself and others that we wear high performance masks, which means they filter out particles well, and they fit well."
Both medical masks and respirators are made out of materials that can filter out particles of all sizes, said Marr. The main difference comes down to fit — respirators are designed to form a seal around the face, while medical masks often leave gaps under the cheeks or chin that allow very small particles to seep through.
These leaks lead to significantly less protection against the novel coronavirus, she said. A well-fitted respirator offers more than 95 per cent protection, she said. For medical masks, effectiveness ranges from 20 per cent to 90 per cent depending on how snug it is.
If hospitals or other facilities want to standardize what masks people wear because of concerns about quality control and counterfeits, Marr offered a simple solution: either let people wear a medical mask under their respirators, or offer everyone a N95...
