We modelled the impact small reductions in transmission would have on COVID deaths. We found a 20% drop could save the lives of 500 Victorians this year, or 2,000 people nationally.
Despite the halt to the federal mask mandate for mass transit, people may still choose to protect themselves. For those who do, the type of mask and how well it fits matter.
We tested well-fitting cloth masks made from 16 kinds of cotton, on human participants, to see how many provided filtration comparable with a certified medical mask. Most of them did.
A woman wears a face mask as she walks by the sculpture ‘The Illuminated Crowd’ on a street in Montréal. Vulnerable people may benefit from measures like face masks even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Decreases in respiratory infections during the pandemic suggest there may be a continued role for the selective, non-mandated use of measures like masks and social distancing even post-COVID-19.
Some school-age children may not even remember what it was like to go to school without masks.
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As mask mandates fall and the CDC issues new mask guidance, kids may experience anxiety around removing their masks. Clear communication from grown-ups can help children navigate the uncertainty.
Masks not only reduce your chance of getting COVID, they might stop you unknowingly transmitting the virus to colleagues, people in vulnerable groups or children who are yet to be vaccinated.
Public health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 require face masks in many settings.
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While public health measures in schools and hospitals aim to reduce COVID transmission, people with disability who have support workers in their homes have largely been forgotten.
What college students do during and after spring break can affect the number of COVID-19 cases on campus.
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Whether about a comet hitting the Earth or a virus infecting the world, fear-based messages often do not succeed at changing people’s behaviors.
Normalizing the use of masks by vulnerable people during flu season could save many lives, even after the threat of COVID-19 has receded.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
After two years of COVID-19, it’s understandable that many people are weary of infection prevention measures. But simply being tired of the pandemic is no reason to let our guard down.
Classroom noise and students’ inability to hear can be a barrier to teaching and learing.
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Teachers wearing wireless microphones that amplify their voices could be one solution to ensuring children can hear — and saving teachers’ voices from strain, particularly in the pandemic.
Just because we’re in a period of social change, doesn’t mean we have to lose momentum on sustainability. There are six things we can do right now to offset our daily waste from disposable masks.
Not all masks offer the same level of protection for you and those around you.
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The CDC’s updated mask guidelines say that cloth masks offer the least protection from COVID-19. Differences in the materials masks are made from and the ways they fit are the reason.
Masks definitely catch some of the virus laden aerosols and droplets - and that will reduce transmission between people and the number of cases of COVID-19.