It’s time to upgrade from cotton masks

With Covid-19 variants like the delta that spread faster, it is time to consider more heavy-duty masks than cotton masks and jersey face coverings.

The US Centers for Disease Control issued double-mask guidance in February, a worthy guidance against new and dangerous Covid-19 variants. Physicians in India, during its second wave, also recommended either double masking or using N95 masks, especially in cities where infection rates had gone up to as high as 50%.

While the US may have removed the mask mandate for those vaccinated, in densely populated countries like India, where social distancing is an economic luxury and often impossible, the appropriate usage of the right kind of masks is imperative. India’s own mask guidelines haven’t been updated since April 2020, when medical-grade masks were in short supply the world over and triple-layered cotton masks were a viable alternative. But that shortage no longer exists.

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