Dr. Jay Varma, the City’s leading public health expert, is advising New Yorkers to consider using two masks instead of one because of the more highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that circulate around the world.
“I am now beginning to wear a surgical mask covered by a tissue mask,” Varma said at a news conference Tuesday morning with Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This is really the current thinking we have now – which is more likely to be better, although we are not sure why these new strains are more infectious.”
The use of more than one mask – often with a cloth covering a surgical mask – came into vogue in the last month, after the first variant of concern was announced in the United Kingdom. Two worrying versions of the virus have also been found in Brazil and South Africa. So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting 293 cases of the UK variant – with 22 detected in New York. Minnesota reported the first case in the United States of the Brazil variant on Monday, and no state has identified the South African variant, although experts believe it is here.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not yet recommended the double mask, but Dr. Anthony Fauci said the masks are good as a common-sense method for preventing infections. Martin Fischer, professor of chemistry at Duke University, agrees.
“For many household masks, such as thin cotton masks, protection can be increased when folded,” said Fischer. “However, there may be times when this is not true, such as when the resulting double mask is so dense that the breath escapes more through the openings than through the mask, or when using a well-adjusted mask over an ill-fitting mask makes the adjustment worse.
Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, told The Washington Post that two layers of masks should be worn in crowded places. She said doing so would not obstruct breathing and could offer equivalent protection to N95 masks, the high-quality covers used by medical professionals.
Fischer added that the N95 masks are well fitted and without a valve, so they do not need a second layer.
Dr. Varma said stricter guidelines for wearing the mask are expected soon.