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Articles on Cloth masks

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones in conversation at Queen’s Park, the day after Ontario’s chief medical officer of health ‘strongly recommended’ mask wearing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

With COVID, flu and RSV circulating, it’s time to follow the evidence: Return to mask mandates

In 2020, with adult ICUs at risk of being overwhelmed, we wore masks and accepted restrictions. Now pediatric intensive care is at risk. Will leaders follow the evidence and tell us to mask up?
Fit, fabric and design affect mask effectiveness. (Windsor Essex Sewing Force)

What’s next with face masks? Keep wearing them in public, wear the best mask available and pay attention to fit

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.
Layering face masks has been suggested as a way to increase protection against COVID-19 variants that may be more transmissible. (Shutterstock)

Are two cloth masks better than one for preventing the spread of COVID-19?

Are two face masks better than one? Adding layers of filtration by double masking is a way of using the masks that we already have, possibly to better effect.
Although cloth masks have been widely adopted, many people still have questions about them. (Usplash/Vera Davidova)

COVID-19 masks FAQs: How can cloth stop a tiny virus? What’s the best fabric? Do they protect the wearer?

Epidemiologists reviewed 25 studies of cloth face masks. Here’s what they found out about how well they work, why they work, who they protect and why the mosquito and chain-link fence analogy is wrong.
Evidence is growing that when masks are worn by nearly everyone, it can slow coronavirus transmission. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Masks help stop the spread of coronavirus – the science is simple and I’m one of 100 experts urging governors to require public mask-wearing

Recommendations around mask usage are confusing. The science isn’t. Evidence shows that masks are extremely effective to slow the coronavirus and may be the best tool available right now to fight it.

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