• the four ways to bring down the number of covid-19 infections (only two are currently possible)
• why it’s important to watch the ‘rt’ value in your community
• tips for wearing a mask
• the best materials for fabric masks
• the difference between n95s, surgical, and homemade masks
• mask myths: from “co2 buildup” to whether it needs to cover your nose

if there’s anything we’ve learned from the last few months, it’s that humans are far from perfect when it comes to maintaining a two-metre physical distance from each other.one way to prevent the virus from spreading even further would be for everyone to wear masks — it’s been shown that masks reduces transmission of sar-cov-2, the coronavirus causing covid-19, the disease. asymptomatic carriers of covid-19 are hard to find because they likely wouldn’t go to get tested if they don’t have any of the classic symptoms — which undermines even the most vigorous testing, tracing, and social distancing programs.so far, the canadian government has suggested, recommended, and advised everyone to wear masks. but without clearly stating that it is mandatory, many people aren’t taking masks seriously.despite this, many provinces have moved onto phase two or three of reopening plans.when ryan imgrund ventures out, mask compliance appears to be no higher than 25 per cent, he says.imgrund is a biostatistician at southlake regional health centre and department head of science at sacred heart catholic high school in newmarket, ont. he says non-medical masks provide ‘source control’ where it protects those around the person wearing the mask — not the person donning the mask.“studies have shown we can hammer down our covid positive numbers if just 60 per cent of the population wears a mask that is 60 per cent effective,” he says. “the only way we will reach these numbers is with a provincial mandatory face covering and masking rule, or one that comes from a regional medical health officer.”

masks can’t wait for the perfect study

however, there is still hesitation from regional officers when it comes to declaring mandatory masks because they are waiting for randomized control trials. imgrund says these will take a long time to conduct, which, by then, it will be too late.he compares the common sense of using masks to parachutes. parachutes are based largely on anecdotal evidence.“we didn’t need a randomized control trial to show us that parachutes work,” he says. “and yet parachutes can fail. and those who jump out of a plane and use a parachute are more likely to die than someone who doesn’t jump out of a plane and, therefore, doesn’t need a parachute. but we know the benefit of parachutes. why don’t we see it with masking?”

masks are the only feasible way to bring infection numbers down

“the only way we will bring down numbers is through vaccination, herd immunity, re-closing businesses, or mandatory masking,” says imgrund. “right now, two of these are possible, with masking being the most palatable.”even if ontario is missing one out of 20 cases, covid-19 has only perforated 4.7 per cent of ontario’s population — far from herd immunity.as for vaccines, there are currently at least 141 vaccines currently being worked on. sixteen vaccines are in human trials but only one is in phase iii of the clinical trial process. one other is in phase ii/iii. the majority are in phase i, i/ii, or phase ii.

just because places are reopening doesn’t mean it’s safe

even as businesses in your region start to open, you need to consider your own personal tolerance for risk — and how that affects everyone in your bubble.if you are in a bubble with more vulnerable people — like the elderly, immunocompromised and those with pre-existing conditions — you owe it to them to take extra precautions, like washing your hands frequently, physical distancing, and wearing masks.‘rt’ is a metric that tells the transmission rate of a virus at any given time (‘t’). r0, pronounced “r-naught,” which was oft-talked about in the early days of the novel coronavirus, measures the disease’s potential. rt tells the actual transmission rate and can guide how regions ease lockdowns and reopen. ideally, the rt should be below one for at least two to three weeks before things are reopened.for regions where the number of weekly cases is greater than five per 100,000 people, rt is the best metric, says imgrund. hospitalizations are a good indicator as well, but they can lag considerably behind when it comes to upticks in case numbers.“look at regions like simcoe-muskoka that have been in stage two for almost two weeks. their numbers are atrocious,” he says. “their rt is up by 0.49 to 1.58. the highest in the province. this means five infected people are likely to infect eight others. and their seven-day rolling average of covid positive cases is up 88 per cent since reopening.”

tips for wearing a mask

remember to wear it so it’s covering your nose. machine or hand wash with soap after every use. and only touch the straps. avoid touching the front of the masks; that’s where it’s most dirty. when taking your mask off, make sure your hands are washed and clean both before and after.we looked at the best fabric material and compared cloth face masks to surgical masks and n95-grade masks below.

what’s the best material for covid-19 face masks?

what masks are made of have a significant impact on efficacy in fighting covid-19.

 canadian government guidelines say reusable cloth masks should be made of at least two layers of tightly-woven fabric, such as cotton or linen. in a new study published by the american chemical society, researchers from the university of chicago tested the filtration efficiencies of common fabrics, including cotton, silk, and polyester-spandex chiffon.here, we rounded several canadian companies making face masks. read more here.

---

masks to fight covid-19 now advised for all. which ones are the best?

the effectiveness of face coverings — from medical-grade n95s to homemade masks — varies significantly.