The global pandemic brought about significant changes in how people should live their daily lives. Since the virus that brought about COVID-19 is fairly new, and there is no vaccine or medications to combat it yet, it is up to the people to exert an extra effort to ensure that they are safe and protected from the virus. One of these is by wearing a face mask.
But How Can Wearing a Mask Protect You from COVID-19?
Technically, you are not protecting yourself by wearing a mask, rather, you are protecting the other people around you when you do.
Thus, to protect yourself, other people should wear masks too. This is how people, as a community, will be able to work together in protecting each other and mitigating contagion.
But How Do Masks Work?
Since the virus can be contracted through the aerosol droplets that you excrete when you sneeze, or even when you simply talk to others, wearing a mask can help prevent the person you are talking to, or the other persons around you, from acquiring the aerosol droplets you excrete. This proves to be beneficial, particularly when you are unaware that you are carrying the virus because you are asymptomatic. In this case, there is a reduced chance that you will be able to pass it on to others. For this reason, you should wear masks, particularly when you need to go out and do your errands and buy your basic needs. For this, you can shop for KN95 online where you will find high-quality ones at a reasonable price. KN95 is a type of mask that has a high filtration rate, much like the medically approved N95 mask possesses.
Still, there is the option for you to wear cloth masks, but this won’t be able to offer high filtration. Nevertheless, cloth masks prove to be sufficient if you are going out, but not going to an area with lots of people. The key is in not touching your face frequently even if you are already wearing a mask. This is because you may have held onto something that is already contaminated with the virus.
Other Mitigation Measures
Aside from wearing face masks, there is also the option for you to wear a face shield as a piece of additional protective equipment that will ensure that you don’t acquire the droplets of other people from their saliva when they sneeze. Of course, proper hand hygiene is mandatory, which is why you need to wash your hands with soap and water properly for at least 20 seconds. Otherwise, make sure that you carry a hand sanitizer with you at all times.
In conclusion, wear your mask to protect others because by wearing their masks, other people also protect you. This is how people can work together as a community to protect each other. Aside from personal protective equipment, keep in mind that hand hygiene is also important such that you need to wash hands as frequently as you can, or keep a sanitizer within your reach.
