Why you might want to start wearing better masks — even outdoors

The spread of more contagious coronavirus variants in Canada amid already high levels of COVID-19 makes it a critical time to think about the masks we wear. To get more news about surgical mask wholesale, you can visit tnkme.com official website.

Whether that means finding better quality masks, doubling up on masks, or wearing them in settings we wouldn't normally think to, experts say it's time we step up our game.

The variants first identified in South Africa and the U.K are spreading in Canada, in some cases with no known link to travel, and have already led to devastating outbreaks in long-term care homes.

The variant discovered in the U.K., known as B117, is estimated to be at least 56 per cent more transmissible and potentially more deadly than the original coronavirus strain.

But even as COVID-19 case numbers show early signs of slowing down in Canada, experts say it's becoming more important than ever to lower our risk of exposure as much as possible to prevent variants from taking hold here.

"The floodwaters are receding right now, but it's still very, very dangerous," said Erin Bromage, a biology professor and immunologist at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth who studies infectious diseases.

"If [B117] does pop up as the dominant variant here, we are going to need to really up our game in regards to masks, in regards to ... how many contacts we have in a day, because it definitely appears to have an upper hand." Canada currently recommends the use of three-layer non-medical masks with a filter layer to prevent the spread of the virus, but has not updated its recommendations since November, before the emergence of new variants.

Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, said that while three-layer non-medical masks are a good "minimum standard," Canadians should opt for masks that offer better protection whenever possible.When I go to the grocery store now, I wear my very best mask," said Linsey Marr, one of the top aerosol scientists in the world and an expert on the airborne transmission of viruses at Virginia Tech. "Before I was wearing an OK mask that was comfortable and easy."

She said a cloth mask can "easily filter out half of particles, maybe more, but we're at the point where we need better performance."Bromage said he changed his approach to masks several months ago when COVID-19 cases started to spike in many parts of North America. That's when he ditched common cloth masks for surgical masks, he said.

Bromage said Level 3 ASTM surgical masks, those that are used at dental clinics, for example, offer both a better level of protection and a better quality fit.

"The most important part is you've got to make sure your breath actually goes through the material," he said.

"You really should see the mask expand and then collapse and expand and collapse with each breath that you take. That's a good indication that what you're breathing is actually going through the material."