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. @CDCgov made an important new recommendation yesterday regarding the use of cloth face coverings in public. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html 1/x
Based on studies showing a significant portion of people with COVID infection can spread it asymptomatically or presymptomatically, @CDCgov recommends the public wear cloth face masks where social distancing difficult to maintain (e.g. groceries, pharmacies). 2/x
The purpose of wearing a cloth mask in public will be to lower the chance of people spreading the virus (e.g. when speaking ,coughing, sneezing), and to contribute to the other measures being taken across the country to slow the spread of the virus. 3/x
The CDC was very clear in saying that the public should not use N95 masks or surgical masks – they must all be preserved for health care workers and other medical first responders. Public masks should be cloth masks. 4/x
Directions for how to make a cloth mask are provided by the Surgeon General and other schematics on that same CDC website. 5/x
The new CDC guidance also makes clear that public mask use should be in addition to all other social distancing measures that have been put in place. People should not think that public mask use provides protection against the virus.6/x
A report https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/03/826219824/president-trump-says-cdc-now-recommends-americans-wear-cloth-masks-in-public said @CDCgov wanted recommendations made for all Americans, as opposed to final wording which focused on places w widespread community transmission. If true, it's another example of the costs of @CDCgov not communicating directly w the public 7/x
I think these recommendations should apply to whole country at this point. Given most places aren’t doing Dx testing of outpts w/ mild symptoms because of insufficient testing capacity, it's not possible to say a given place isn’t having substantial community transmission.8/x
Some parts of country still resist large scale distancing & recommendations to stay at home. Waiting for a place to become a “hotspot” to put in place social distancing, stay at home, or public masking recommendations is too late. 9/x
