It seems like face masks will be here to stay for a while. Let’s take a deeper look at masks

Imagine that this past Rosh Hashanah, someone would have told you that in just a few months, everyone will be walking around wearing a mask. Everywhere — for davening, for grocery shopping, for going to the doctor’s office. What would you have said? I don’t know about you, but I think I would have been shocked, surprised, and skeptical.

Well, as crazy as it might have sounded just six months ago, that is now the reality in many parts of the world. People are walking around wearing a whole variety of masks! Baruch Hashem, we’ve seen a vast improvement in the situation, but it seems like face masks will be here to stay for a while. Let’s take a deeper look at masks.

Why is it important to wear a mask?

According to many experts, wearing a mask is an important tool that we can use to slow the spread of COVID-19, the new virus that has turned our world over. Many kinds of masks actually protect other people more than they protect the wearer. That’s important, because for many people (especially children and young, healthy adults), the virus does not cause serious illness. In fact, kids can have Covid-19 and may not feel sick at all! In the meantime, though, every time they sneeze or cough or even talk, they can spread the virus to people who are at risk of getting really sick, like elderly people, or people who have chronic (ongoing) health issues.

Other, more specialized kinds of masks do offer the wearer varying degrees of protection from the virus. These kinds of masks are important to health-care workers who are taking care of sick people, like doctors and nurses, and possibly for people who are considered high risk (your parents can ask your doctor’s advice if they feel that you, or someone else, might be in that category).

Different Kinds of Masks

There are three main types of masks you’ll see around you. There are cloth masks, which are reusable and can be washed (and are often the most comfortable kind to wear). There are surgical masks, which are also called medical masks. Those masks mostly help prevent the person from spreading their own germs. There are also respirator masks, which protect the wearer himself from small particles and droplets that may be around him. Here are the differences between them.