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Senior editor Sally Kaplan and associate editor editor Jen Gushue wear the Vida Protective Masks.
Sally Kaplan / Business Insider
Wearing a face mask is essential to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, along with other CDC guidelines, such as maintaining 6 feet of social distance and washing your hands frequently.
Wearing face masks in public is first and foremost about social responsibility. Covering face masks help protect other people against your germs, which is especially important because you can be asymptomatic as well as presymptomatic and not know that you are carrying the virus. The exceptions to the masks-in-public rule are children under the age of two and anyone who has trouble breathing or otherwise cannot remove their mask without assistance.
“If everyone wears a mask when they are in public, those who have disease in them, or symptomatic or not, will not pollute the environment,” Chris Ziebell, an emergency medical director for US Acute Care Solutions, told Business earlier Insider.
Since healthcare professionals and COVID-19 patients are most in need of medical-grade surgical masks and N-95 masks, the CDC has encouraged the general public to wear cloth masks instead.
“We get to the point where we want everyone to wear masks when they go outside, especially if they’re going to be in a setting that can be no more than six feet away from others,” Roberto Posada, MD, an infection for pediatrician on Mount Sinai said earlier to INSIDER. “Ideally, [they should wear] a new mask every day or every time they have to go out, ”Posada explained.
The CDC recommends that face masks have the following features:
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- A snug fit that sits comfortably against the side of the face
- Bands as ear loops that keep it safe
- Multiple layers of fabric
- Allow for breathing without restriction
- The ability to wash and dry machine without damage or change in shape
Throughout the pandemic, the Insider Reviews team is digging into everything – including when renting cars and Airbnbs safely, such as where to buy groceries, toilet paper, effective hand sanitizer, EPA-registered cleaners and face masks. So I decided to ask my colleagues what face masks they have worn and recommend the most, because there is nothing like first person feedback to help you decide which one is best for you.
Below you will find eight of our favorite thread-and-true masks that are comfortable, breathable, reliable and relatively affordable.
