KATHMANDU: United Stated public health experts are urging American citizens to upgrade their masks to KN95 or N95 instead of plain cloth masks in order to keep at bay the highly transmissible coronavirus variants.
As easily attainable precautionary measure, American health authorities have advised the use of double masks or adding a fabric mask over a surgical one, as stated by The Washington Post.
The US daily said, according to experts, it is time to buy the highest quality KN95 or N95 masks that officials, hoping to reserve supplies for health-care workers, had been discouraging Americans from buying.
The Post quoted former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tom Frieden, as saying, "The existence of more-transmissible viruses emphasizes the importance of us upping our game and doing not more of the same but better of the same." He added, "Yes, that is confusing to people, but the key is to share what we know when we know it and be frank about what we don't know."
Likewise, Anthony Fauci, US infectious-disease expert said, it just made sense that two layers likely would be more effective.
According to the news outlet, United States is behind as compared to other nations of the world in mask production. It states that many Asian countries have mass-produced high-quality masks, and in recent times, European countries have also begun advising medical grade masks in public settings.
Meanwhile, the new American administration led by President Joe Biden taken masking as a crucial strategy to fight the pandemic.
