Ineffective in fires, cloth masks still helpful against COVID-19
West Coast states are experiencing some of the worst wildfires on record amid the most infectious pandemic in a century. An epidemic of misinformation hurts efforts to combat the natural disasters.
A post on Facebook juxtaposes a statement about the average size of coronavirus and wildfire smoke particulates with a CDC tweet that cloth face masks “do not catch small particles found in wildfire smoke that can harm your health.”
The implication appears to be that face masks do not protect against either coronavirus or wildfire particulates, as viral particles are on average smaller – at “0.12-0.3 microns” – than smoke – “at 0.7-0.4 microns.” USA TODAY was unable to reach the poster of the image for comment.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that cloth masks are not effective at protecting people from inhaling wildfire smoke.
The CDC notes that higher-quality “N95 respirators do provide protection from wildfire smoke” but that “they might be in short supply as front-line health care workers use them during the pandemic.”
“My advice to the public is that people should be sheltering in place as much as possible,” said John Balmes, a professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco.
Cloth masks and other non-medicalgrade face coverings aren’t the best way to stop a person from inhaling infectious particles and droplets. Rather, face coverings are widely mandated because they make it more difficult for infected people to spread the virus.
“Masks are recommended as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. This is called source control,” the CDC says in its guidelines.
“COVID-19 can be spread by people who do not have symptoms and do not know that they are infected. That’s why it’s important for everyone to wear masks in public settings and practice social distancing,” the CDC emphasizes.
A complicated campaign
Public guidelines urging masks have evolved over the course of the pandemic. Health officials, aware of how most widely available masks don’t provide the personal protection that medicalgrade respirators offer, were hesitant to encourage widespread mask-wearing.
The CDC reversed messaging when it became apparent that Americans could make and wear enough cloth masks to slow the virus’s spread.
West Coast officials are concerned that many won’t distinguish between symptoms from exposure to wildfire smoke and COVID-19.
The CDC and state public health departments issued guidelines for how to distinguish between the symptoms, measures to protect against smoke and coronavirus and advice that people should support each other.
“Some people most vulnerable to wildfire smoke, like those over 65 or with preexisting conditions, are also those most at risk for serious impacts from COVID-19. Check on your neighbors and make sure they know how to keep the air clean in their homes,” a Medium post from the Washington Department of Health reads.
Our ruling: Missing context
Cloth masks are not granular enough to protect against smoke and airborne particles from the wildfires gripping the Western USA, according to CDC guidelines. The CDC and other agencies still endorse masks for slowing the spread of COVID-19. N95 respirators and similar-quality personal protective equipment protect against both wildfire smoke and coronavirus particles but are reserved for health care workers and first responders.