UTAH – With the COVID-19 U.K. variant found in multiple states, including Utah, Dr. Anthony Fauci said wearing two masks may be more effective when it comes to preventing the spread.
So far, there has only been one confirmed case of the more infectious mutation found in Utah, but health experts say it’s likely more widespread.
“If a new strain comes that is more infectious, we could be seeing more and more and that means we need to double down,” said Russell Vinik, chief medical operations officer for U of U Health.
Vinik said it’s reasonable to wear double masks if you’re trying to take every precaution. He said Utahns should consider two things when choosing a mask.
“Number one, how tight fitting it is and number two, how many layers there are,” he said.
Masks of any kind become less effective when they don’t properly fit your face.
“The tighter the weave or the more fabric there is, the more likely you are to capture those droplets and then prevent transmission,” he said.
Vinik recommends two layers of cloth masks, a surgical mask or KN95 mask. N95 masks should still be reserved for health care workers.
It makes senses that’s probably more effective than single masking, but by all means, what we don’t want is to just be frustrated and say, ‘oh yesterday they said one mask, now they say two masks,’ By all means, just wear a mask,” Vinik said.