Societal attitudes in Canada and the U.S. toward wearing face masks in public as protection against COVID-19 have undergone an “unprecedented” shift in just a matter of months.
In some East Asian countries, the wearing of face masks has been recommended or required since the start of the pandemic.
It is already an accepted practice in some countries, including China, South Korea, and Japan, to wear face masks when one is sick or to protect against infection during cold and flu seasons or to protect against air pollution.
And while the effectiveness of face masks continue to be a source of debate within the scientific community, more people are embracing the idea in the U.S. and Canada based on a number of surveys.
Health Canada has stated that homemade face masks might lessen the spread of the wearer’s infectious droplets to others, but may not provide complete protection against “virus-sized particles”, in part due to variations in the way they fit and the materials people are using to make them and their relative potential to block those particles.
N95 respirators, which are recommended primarily for healthcare workers, on the other hand, can help protect the wearer against respiratory viruses, such as the novel coronavirus when they are worn properly and form a seal around the nose and mouth.
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Learn how to stay safe by enrolling in a mask fitting test which is a requirement for many workplaces and school admissions or the available masks for sale by visiting our face mask sale page.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/cloth-face-coverings-information.pdf
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/face-masks-importance-battle-with-covid19
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200504-coronavirus-what-is-the-best-kind-of-face-mask