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“Individual benefits are increasing with the increasing use of community masks,” the CDC said Tuesday.
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Wearing a face mask doesn’t just protect others from catching the coronavirus – it also protects the wearer, and even the economy, the US Centers for Disease Control said on Tuesday, in its most explicit endorsement yet. masks.
In a science note released Tuesday, the CDC said that while “the masks are primarily intended to reduce the emission of virus-laden droplets,” they “also help reduce the inhalation of these droplets by the wearer.”
“Experimental and epidemiological data support community masking to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2,” the CDC said. “The prevention benefit of masking is derived from the combination of source control and personal protection for the wearer of the mask. … Individual benefit increases with the increasing use of masks in the community.
In other words, the more people who wear masks in a community, the less the virus spreads.
The CDC also noted an economic benefit, reporting an analysis using US data found that “increasing universal masking by 15% could avoid the need for lockdown and reduce associated losses to as much as $ 1 trillion, or about 5% of gross domestic product. “
Previously, in a July brief, the CDC had been more hesitant in its recommendation to wear a mask, saying masks were primarily effective in preventing people with COVID-19 from passing it on to others.
In its Tuesday report, the CDC said seven studies had “confirmed the benefit” of universal masking in preventing the spread of the coronavirus. “Studies show that fabric mask materials can also reduce carrier exposure to infectious droplets,” he says.
While many members of the Trump administration – including the president himself – have questioned the effectiveness of the masks, public health experts have long insisted on their use. President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to push for a nationwide mask term after taking office.
The new findings from the CDC come as the pandemic worsens across much of the country. Over a million new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed so far this month, with daily infections running over 100,000 a day. To date, the United States has recorded more than 10.2 million cases of coronavirus and nearly 240,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the two most in the world.
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