LibGuides: COVID News Sources: FAQ and Making Masks

Face Masks Required in NC starting June 26 at 5pm

Cooper requires masks, keeps NC in Phase Two in effort to slow coronavirus spread
A concerned North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday the state will remain in Phase Two for another three weeks while making face coverings mandatory in public.

The order that moved the state into Phase 2 on May 22 was scheduled to expire on Friday. It has been extended until July 17. The mask requirement takes effect Friday [June 26] at 5 p.m.

Making Face Masks

JOANN Fabrics - How to Make Masks
Help Support our Country’s Medical Personnel! Volunteers across the country are making masks. See how you can help us reach our goal of donating 100 million masks!
Deaconess Health System - How to Make A Mask
Due to an outpouring of generous responses to our request for sewn masks, we have created this database to help connect individuals and companies making masks to those organizations needing masks.
Michael's -- Make Masks and Shields to Help Fight COVID-19
With the CDC now recommending that individuals wear masks in public, and with healthcare workers worldwide experiencing shortages of the personal protective equipment necessary for their role in the fight against COVID-19, makers are being called into action.

You’ve got the creativity. We’ve got the supplies, including bandannas, fabric, elastic, as well as tools, instructions and videos. Let’s join forces to make masks and shields that can help bridge the equipment gap.

Wearing Face Masks

Are you looking for science-based information on the effectiveness of masks? Why should you wear one? How can it help your community stay safe and open for business during this pandemic? Then check out the articles below!

A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers and sick patients (April 2020)
The pandemic of COVID-19 is growing, and a shortage of masks and respirators has been reported globally. Policies of health organizations for healthcare workers are inconsistent, with a change in policy in the US for universal face mask use. The aim of this study was to review the evidence around the efficacy of masks and respirators for healthcare workers, sick patients and the general public.
more...less...
Results
A total of 19 randomised controlled trials were included in this study – 8 in community settings, 6 in healthcare settings and 5 as source control. Most of these randomised controlled trials used different interventions and outcome measures. In the community, masks appeared to be effective with and without hand hygiene, and both together are more protective. Randomised controlled trials in health care workers showed that respirators, if worn continually during a shift, were effective but not if worn intermittently. Medical masks were not effective, and cloth masks even less effective. When used by sick patients randomised controlled trials suggested protection of well contacts.
Face Mask Use and Control of Respiratory Virus Transmission in Households (Feb 2009)
Abstract
Many countries are stockpiling face masks for use as a nonpharmaceutical intervention to control virus transmission during an influenza pandemic. We conducted a prospective cluster-randomized trial comparing surgical masks, non–fit-tested P2 masks, and no masks in prevention of influenza-like illness (ILI) in households. Mask use adherence was self-reported. During the 2006 and 2007 winter seasons, 286 exposed adults from 143 households who had been exposed to a child with clinical respiratory illness were recruited. We found that adherence to mask use significantly reduced the risk for ILI-associated infection, but <50% of participants wore masks most of the time. We concluded that household use of face masks is associated with low adherence and is ineffective for controlling seasonal respiratory disease. However, during a severe pandemic when use of face masks might be greater, pandemic transmission in households could be reduced.
more...less...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A (H5N1) continues to spread globally, posing a serious human pandemic threat. In the event of an influenza pandemic or other emerging respiratory disease such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), it is likely that antiviral drugs and vaccines will be in short supply or that delivery could be delayed. Therefore, nonpharmaceutical interventions such as mask use, handwashing, and other hygiene measures or school closure might be effective early control strategies. In contrast to pharmaceutical interventions, little is known about the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical interventions in the community. A recent analysis gives estimates of the effect of school closure (1), and several prospective, randomized controlled trials of handwashing have been published (2–11). However, clinical trial data on the ability of face masks to reduce respiratory virus transmission in the community are limited to 1 published prospective trial, which showed lack of efficacy (12). In addition, adverse effects of wearing masks (particularly respirators) may affect compliance and effectiveness (13–15). Despite the lack of quantitative evidence, many countries have included recommendations in their pandemic plans on the use of face masks (16–18). We present the results of a cluster-randomized household study of the effectiveness of using face masks to prevent or reduce transmission of influenza-like illness (ILI).
Spate of new research supports wearing masks to control coronavirus spread (June 13, 2020)
"Four months of discord about the coronavirus epidemic have transformed the cloth mask into a potent political symbol, touted by Democrats as a key part of communal responsibility, labeled by some GOP leaders as a sign of government overreach and as a scarlet letter pinned on the weak."

"But as partisan interests sew symbolism and controversy into masks, scientists are trying to provide answers about how effectively those masks prevent transmission of the coronavirus, and what role they should play in efforts to limit the pathogen’s spread."

"Several new studies published this month support wearing masks to curb the transmission of the novel coronavirus. The broadest, a review funded by the World Health Organization and published in the journal Lancet, concluded that data from 172 observational studies indicate wearing face masks reduces the risk of coronavirus infection."
Masks help stop the spread of coronavirus – the science is simple and I’m one of 100 experts urging governors to require public mask-wearing (May 2020)
"Much to my surprise, I discovered that the evidence for wearing masks in public was very strong. It appeared that universal mask-wearing could be one of the most important tools in tackling the spread of COVID-19. Yet the people around me weren’t wearing masks and health organizations in the U.S. weren’t recommending their use."

"Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone wears a mask – as do the governments covering 90% of the world’s population – but, so far, only 12 states in the U.S. require it. In the majority of the remaining states, the CDC recommendation has not been enough: Most people do not currently wear masks. However, things are changing fast. Every week more and more jurisdictions require mask use in public. As I write this, there are now 94 countries that have made this move."
Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks (May 2020)
Abstract
We identified seasonal human coronaviruses, influenza viruses and rhinoviruses in exhaled breath and coughs of children and adults with acute respiratory illness. Surgical face masks significantly reduced detection of influenza virus RNA in respiratory droplets and coronavirus RNA in aerosols, with a trend toward reduced detection of coronavirus RNA in respiratory droplets. Our results indicate that surgical face masks could prevent transmission of human coronaviruses and influenza viruses from symptomatic individuals.
Mayo Clinic -- "COVID-19: How much protection do face masks offer?"
Can face masks help prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19? Yes, face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as frequent hand-washing and social distancing, help slow the spread of the virus.

So why weren't face masks recommended at the start of the pandemic? At that time, experts didn't yet know the extent to which people with COVID-19 could spread the virus before symptoms appeared. Nor was it known that some people have COVID-19 but don't have any symptoms. Both groups can unknowingly spread the virus to others.

These discoveries led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to do an about-face on face masks. The CDC updated its guidance to recommend widespread use of simple cloth face coverings to help prevent transmission of the virus by people who have COVID-19 but don't know it.

Some public health groups argue that masks should be reserved for health care providers and point to the critical shortage of surgical masks and N95 masks. The CDC acknowledged this concern when it recommended cloth masks for the public and not the surgical and N95 masks needed by health care providers.