Does wearing two masks provide more protection?
It depends, but it’s possible that doubling up could help in some situations.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a cloth mask made with two or more layers, and ensuring it covers your nose and mouth. The agency says it should fit snugly so there aren't any gaps at the sides of your face.
Wearing just one mask should be enough for most situations, as long as it fits well and isn't loose, said Dr. David Hamer, an infectious disease expert at Boston University.
“Starting out with a good mask to begin with is going to be key,” Hamer said.
Still, some people might want extra protection if they're at risk for severe illness if infected or will be in situations where they expect to be around others for extended periods, such as on a plane.
One option in scenarios when you want extra protection is to wear a cloth mask as well as a regular surgical mask, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco.
Gandhi said that combination -- with either mask on top -- could help achieve a similar effect as the N95 mask. She recommended the added protection for people who will be indoors in areas where transmission rates are high — which could reflect the circulation of more contagious variants.
Another option Gandhi and a colleague recommend for situations where you want “maximum” protection: A two-layer cloth mask that has a filter material in between.
With single cloth masks for everyday use, Gandhi noted it's important that they're made of tightly-woven material and have at least two layers, which creates “an obstacle course” that makes it harder for virus-carrying particles to break through.
The airlines announced the cuts Tuesday morning after markets suffered their biggest drop since the 2008 recession. The shock came as demand for flights sunk worldwide.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, March 10, 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 7.8%, its steepest drop since the financial crisis of 2008, as a free-fall in oil prices and worsening fears of fallout from the spreading coronavirus outbreak seize markets. The sharp drops triggered the first automatic halts in trading in two decades.
Officials at the World Health Organization said Monday that of about 80,000 people who have been sickened by COVID-19 in China, more than 70 percent have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
Stocks are falling sharply Monday on Wall Street on a combination of coronavirus fears and plunging oil prices, triggering a brief, automatic halt in trading to let investors catch their breath.
Lenore Hawkins, chief macro strategist for Tamatica Research, told Cheddar that the combination of the COVID-19 outbreak and the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia is an unprecedented set of circumstances for investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,500 points, or 6%, following similar drops in Europe after a fight among major crude-producing countries jolted investors already on edge about the widening fallout from the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, March 9, 2020.
MindMed became the first publicly listed psychedelics company in the world after kicking off trading on the Canadian stock exchange NEO this week.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
