More protective masking, including N95s, needed to curb Omicron, say experts

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Evidence published before the emergence of Omicron did not support the use of N95s over medical masks to protect health workers against COVID-19.

 

(Adina Bresge/ CTV News) — When Linsey Marr boarded a bus in Lake Louise, Alta., earlier this week, she was floored to find out that she had to take off her N95 respirator and put on a medical mask for the ride.

The Virginia Tech engineering professor, who studies viruses in the air, said the policy defies scientific reason, because respirators offer far more protection than a medical mask, both to the wearer and others around them.

“It would be like asking someone to take off their seatbelt, and to use this piece of rope to tie themselves to the seat instead,” Marr said by phone. (…)

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