Straight Talk About Masks and Coronavirus Prevention
Concerned about dwindling supplies, Western health authorities keep declaring that they’re no help against Covid-19. Really? Then why are supplies dwindling?
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Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty ImagesA procedural mask loosely covers the mouth and nose of the wearer and has straps that go over the ears. The term is often used interchangeably with “surgical mask,” but among U.S. medical suppliers a surgical mask is one with ties secured behind one’s head for a snugger, more secure fit. Both are usually made of three or four layers of non-woven fabric, with one of the middle layers a melt-blown polymer that acts as a filter, and both are intended to be disposed of after use.
The surgical mask is meant for operating rooms and other sterile environments, procedural masks for areas that need to be clean but not necessarily sterile. Both give wearers some protection from things that might splash into their mouths or noses, but their main role in a medical context is to protect patients from what might come out of the nose or mouth of the wearer.