San Diego officials say wearing face coverings is one of the best tools to prevent coronavirus infections as the region begins to reopen.
Hand washing, social distancing, and face coverings are considered key strategies to control the spread of the coronavirus.
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“I know it’s a pain,” said Greg Cox, San Diego County Supervisor. “I've seen and heard the comments from people who are tired of wearing facial coverings. But I want to remind everyone there is still no cure for COVID-19.
Cox was speaking at the county’s Wednesday briefing on COVID 19.
“This is a contagious disease and studies have shown that face coverings help slow the spread of the virus,” Cox said.
New research due to be published next week in the Journal Science finds the risk of infection from aerosols that are released by just talking is much greater than initially thought.
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Scripps Institute of Oceanography Atmospheric Chemist Kim Prather called masks essential.
“The number one reason to wear a mask is because you don’t know who’s sick. We can’t identify people,” Prather said. “And they estimate as many as 40% of the people that are sick are walking around exposing people for days.
The U.C. San Diego researcher said masks are one of the best tools to keep the airborne virus from spreading, but she worries infection rates will go up because people are not wearing their masks when they go outside.
