You may have seen people in public with homemade masks and have thought, are they effective?
Northwestern Health Unit’s Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill says they can help, but more to prevent the spread of COVID-19 instead of preventing the wearer from becoming sick.
Dr. Gemmill says in order for the mask to be effective, people need to do a few other things.
“Not to be touching ones face all the time to adjust it and continuing to wash hands before the mask is put on and after the mask is taken off.”
Dr. Gemmill adds residents should worry more about what they touch including surfaces and their face as they are the most likely cause of the virus spreading.
He notes there’s still a lot of unknowns about the coronavirus right now.
