GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It's been a few months since mask mandates across the state were lifted, but health officials say its time to start keeping one on you again just in case.
When it comes to facial coverings, not all are created equal and some provide better protection than others. Last year, it seemed like the COVID safety suggestions were constantly changing.
"We really didn't have what we needed to make wide community recommendations," says Marcia Mansaray, deputy health officer for the Ottawa County Health Department.
But now we do, and the most widely recommended prevention methods is the face mask. Mansaray says the biggest reason for their return is your ability to spread the virus without realizing it.
"You could naturally be going about your business contagious but not knowing it because you feel fine," she says.
With so many different types of face coverings, which provides the best protection? Mansaray says there is one thing you definitely want to have.
"Multiple layers," she explains. "Of cloth, or some kind of paper depending on the mask. Surgical masks work, cloth masks that have multiple layers, at least two."
That doesn't mean wearing two masks at once, it just means the one you have shouldn't be a single layer. One thing to avoid is the single layer gaiters that have become popular.
"It's not helpful and actually might be a little bit harmful," says Mansaray, "because the virus particles can still get through it and might be smaller and able to travel further than six feet."
At the other end of the spectrum, Mansaray calls the N95 or the KN95 mask the most protective of the bunch.
"They fit tighter, they have more layers, they're thicker," she says. "They are less comfortable because it's a little hotter inside of there, but they definitely provide better protection for other people if you're contagious."
Last year, the CDC encouraged the general public not to buy N95 masks because of a shortage and the need to get them to medical workers, but Mansaray says there is a more abundant supply this time around.
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