Although the mask recommendations have changed repeatedly during the pandemic, one piece of advice has remained relatively consistent: the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have repeatedly recommended that surgical-grade (FFP1) and N95 (FFP2) masks be reserved for professionals health, while fabric masks and leg warmers are to be worn by ordinary citizens who lead their normal lives.
This may not be the case for much longer.
The German government started demanding that everyone wear the FFP1 or FFP2 masks during public transport, at workplaces and in stores as of Tuesday, January 19. France followed at the end of that week, determining that both FFP1 and FFP2 are required in “public places.”
Austria’s FFP2 mandate began on Sunday, January 24th.
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The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) recommends facial masks both indoors and outdoors to help prevent the spread of new variations of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. Although they do not specify the type of mask, both the WHO and the CDC recommend that the FFP1 and FFP2 masks, which were missing during the pandemic, be reserved for healthcare professionals.
This is not the first major change in mask recommendations. In the early days of the pandemic, understanding of the virus was minimal and surgical masks and N95s were scarce. The CDC advised against the use of masks, reversing the course about a month after the virus spread across the globe.
The change in recommendations comes down to the effectiveness of the masks. Study after study confirmed that the N95 mask (FFP2) offers the greatest possible protection beyond social distance and simply stay at home, with three-layer surgical masks (FFP1) coming in a distant second place. Fabric facial masks, folded headbands and leg warmers were all found to be significantly less effective.
It is important to note that, except in some highly specific situations, facial coverings are still much safer than going without a mask.
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The CDC recommends that the gaiters be used in two layers. Reports that the gaiters with a mask were worse than without a mask were later contested by experts.
The effectiveness of facial protection is currently unknown.
As scientists gained a greater understanding of COVID-19 and mask supplies met demand, and as new variants of the disease emerged, health experts and world leaders saw more incentives to increase precautions. Whether or not masks are the best way to achieve this is controversial.
“The better the quality of the mask you can use, the more effective it will be to stop transmission, but you also need to put the price and affordability on it,” Jimmy Whitworth, professor of public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said Bloomberg.
Writing for The Washington Post, Harvard University associate professor and director of the Healthy Buildings Program, Joseph G. Allen, said: “There is no reason for any essential worker – and, indeed, everyone in the country – to stay without (N95) masks that filter 95 percent (of pathogens) … here’s my glue sheet: if you can find an N95, go ahead. They are certified in the United States. Except that, I would choose the certified mask used in South Korea, the KF94. Then I would choose KN95s. “
Buyers looking for N95 masks, in particular, should be wary of the spread of counterfeit N95s. Read our guide on how to detect and avoid them.
Speaking to journalists in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her own citizens and other governments to take the new regulations seriously to “prevent a third wave”.