The Covid-19 coronavirus turns out to have stepped up its game with the Osyncron variant. Does this mean you also want to upgrade your face mask kit?Will it be enough to wear a classic mask?Or now you want to upgrade to N95?
Here are some of the questions you might be “facing” with the spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). I covered those questions for Forbes in January after the Alpha variant appeared. But it was several Greek letters ago.
The Omicron variant necessarily said “Hug me beer” to all the other predecessors, adding the Delta variant, when it comes to spreading faster and more easily. It is not yet known whether the Omicron variant has a similar or lower chance of causing Covid-19 to earlier versions of the virus. However, anecdotal reports seem to suggest that other people become inflamed even when they supposedly wear masks diligently.
Of course, “dressed in face masks” is as broad and indistinct as “dressed in underwear” or maybe even “dressed in clothes. “”Dressed in clothes” meant dressed in more than one thong. Similarly, when someone tells you that you caught SARS-CoV-2 despite wearing a face mask, you need to know what type of face mask and how it was worn.
As you’ve probably noticed, face coverings come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and types. And not everyone wears those face coverings properly, which can affect their effectiveness. It would be a bit like dressing in underwear while allowing you, well, to use your imagination. So, without further studies, it’s hard to say how effective another face mask opposite to the Omicron variant may be.
In addition, increasing transmissibility does not necessarily mean that the Omicron variant can more easily pass through the face mask. Many other things can increase the transmissibility of a respiratory virus. For example, an inflamed user possibly, on average, expels more virus. or excreted for longer periods of time. The virus may stay longer in the air or on surfaces. The virus can also more gently enter your cells or break through your body’s defenses and enter your cells. Without enough correct studies, it is still too early to say how different the Omicron variant would possibly be from its predecessors.
However, an N95 face mask still gives you smart coverage compared to the Omicron variant. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) gives the N95 label to the face mask that can remove at least 95% of all airborne particles. regardless of size. So, yes, an N95 respirator would give you much greater coverage than a face covering that doesn’t meet N95 standards.
Of course, you want to check that a face mask is N95 rated. News flash. People and corporations can do anything called “lying,” which in this case doesn’t refer to their position on a couch. So, check the official list of NIOSH-approved N95 masks to make sure an N95 face mask has been tested. and qualified as such.
N95 certification would be preferable to KN95 certification. The latter is popular in China and uses testing approaches that may not be as strict as NIOSH procedures. Just because a face mask is qualified for KN95 does not mean that it will necessarily meet the requirements of NIOSH N95. However, KN95 certification is still better than no certification. And an N95 or KN95 qualified face mask would give you much greater coverage than a popular face covering.
Again, just because a mask and its packaging say N95 or KN95 doesn’t mean you’ve officially achieved such certifications, as this segment of CBC News showed:
This does not mean that popular face masks are absolutely opposite to the Omison variant. While the virus is possibly small enough to pass through the pores of popular face masks, those coatings can also at least reduce the amount of virus that can enter. the nose and mouth. Viruses can be like platypuses in the bathtub. A few would not cause much trouble. However, at some point, the more there is, the more disruption they can cause. Whether you’re inflamed and the severity of the resulting infection possibly depends on how much virus enters your frame in the first place.
Besides, it’s not all up to you. Just like dressing in clothes and not urinating in the pool, dressing in a face mask is all about protecting each other. When inflamed with the virus, almost all types of face coverings can block at least some of the virus coming out of the nose and mouth. . Therefore, he is rendering a public service to everyone by covering his face. Naturally, this depends on the amount of politics of your nose and mouth, the porosity of the material, and the number of layers involved. Two layers are more than one layer of the same material. Three layers are more than two layers. And in theory, 2523 layers is more than 3 layers, breathing is probably a challenge with the former.
Therefore, at first glance, or on your face, a type of bandaged face covering is better than not covering your face. other. This might give you some protection, but you’d be required to apply other types of precautions, such as social distancing, and be fully vaccinated and reinforced.
If you have a choice, opt for a face mask rated as N95 or equivalent. Wearing such a mask will be especially vital when you cannot combine at least two other Covid-19 precautions at all times. For example, wear an N95 face mask if you can’t socially distance and don’t know if everyone around you is fully vaccinated and reinforced, such as on an airplane. And make sure your N95 face mask is compatible with your face perfectly, creating a tightness. Otherwise, like wearing underwear that doesn’t If it doesn’t have compatibility, an N95 face mask that doesn’t have compatibility can end up letting things in or out that no one wants to see.