Q&A: Should you wear a mask? Will warm weather slow virus?

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Here are answers to some commonly-asked questions about making social choices during the coronavirus outbreak:

Who should and should not wear a mask?

Leading up to this week, federal guidelines did not suggest wearing a mask if you are not sick or a healthcare worker.

However, a growing number of national medical experts have suggested wearing a mask could offer some level of defense, albeit a small one. A homemade or surgical mask won’t stop a sub-microscopic virus, but it could potentially protect against droplets from a cough or a sneeze.

As of Wednesday, the CDC has not yet officially recommended that people who are well wear a masks to protect themselves from COVID-19 or any respiratory illness.

If you decide to wear a mask, the World Health Organization recommends taking the following steps:

1. Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

2. Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.

3. Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

4. Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.

5. To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask); discard immediately in a closed bin. Clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

Some reports have suggested warmer weather could slow down the virus. Florida recently has experienced temperatures in the 80s and 90s, but we are still seeing a rapid increase in the infection rate. Is it possible that more time is needed for the warm weather to affect the spread of the virus?

At this point, scientists and other experts just don’t know.

Libby Richards, an associate professor at the Purdue University School of Nursing who teaches courses on population health, said there’s simply not enough “good” data available to indicate whether warm weather will slow the spread of the virus.

“The fact is that the virus is too new to allow prediction of how weather will impact the spread of disease,” she said. “The increased number of cases seen in Florida are the result of two things: 1) increased testing and 2) increased spread. It remains very important that we all stay home as much as possible and only make essential trips out.”

The best approach remains to stay at home as much as possible, limit contact with others and engage in social distancing if you have to go out.

Florida’s COVID-19 peak is currently projected to fall on May 3, according to the most recent projections compiled the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, suggesting warm weather won’t slow down the spread of the virus.

While some viruses, like the common cold and flu, spread more during cold weather months, that does not mean it is impossible to become sick with these viruses during other months, according to the CDC. However, as Richards pointed out, it’s too early to know if the spread of COVID-19 will decrease when weather becomes warmer.

“There is much more to learn about the transmissibility, severity, and other features associated with COVID-19 and investigations are ongoing,” the CDC wrote on its website.

What effect does a chlorinated pool have on the virus?

Richards: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread through the use of pools and hot tubs. The key is that the pool or hot tub is in proper operation and has been properly maintained with adequate amounts of disinfectants such as chlorine or bromine. Proper filtration and use of disinfectants in pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the COVID-19 virus.”