Fact check: Non reusable masks need to always be worn colored-side-out

The claim: Non reusable masks should be used white-side-out to keep COVID-19 out

As total U.S. COVID-19 cases go beyond 600,000 and deaths surpass 25,000, mask usage is becoming significantly common. On April 3, the Centers for Illness Control and Avoidance reversed its stance to suggest voluntary usage of face masks in public. And some state and local governments are requiring masks or fabric face coverings while out in public in specific scenarios.

Amid the numerous conversations about face masks, false information about appropriate use continues to spread. The claim that non reusable masks must be reversed depending upon the health of the wearer persists regardless of truth checks finding otherwise.

On March 15, a Facebook user published a picture of an indication portraying a common non reusable mask and instructed people to use masks with the ” White side out: Filter- When (you’re) not ill and want to keep infection out” and “Blue side out: to keep bacteria in when (you’re) ill.”

The user informed U.S.A. TODAY that the sign had actually been published in her physician’s office. When she learned this was inaccurate, the Facebook user got rid of the post, which had almost 10,000 shares. Her post was not distinct. Similar posts making the same claim have been appearing on social networks considering that January.

Medical experts say masks need to always be worn colored-side-out

Worldwide Health Organizations educational video “When and how to use medical masks to secure against coronavirus,” Dr. April Baller describes the within the mask “is typically the white side.”

” The colored side of the mask is usually the front and must face far from you, while the white side touches your face,” the San Francisco Department of Public Health describes on its website.

Dr. Wing Hong Seto, the co-director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Transmittable Illness Epidemiology and Control, dealt with the claim directly to QuickTake by Bloomberg on Jan. 24.

” You see it has the blue color on the outside due to the fact that it is waterproof and then you have white on the within due to the fact that it is absorbent,” he stated. “So, if I cough, it absorbs it.”

Seto also stressed the importance of wearing a face mask with the metal wired edge on top and disposing of used masks without touching the outside.

Non reusable masks’ fluid-resistant layer should face outward

PriMed, a prominent medical mask producer, explains the value of appropriate mask use on its site. Medical masks are made to be fluid resistant, with the water resistant layer on the outside to “lessen the amount of fluid that might transfer from the external layers through to the inner layers as the result of a splash or spray,” in accordance with the American Society of Screening and Materials standards.

” The filtering performance and protective capability of a medical face mask is compromised when the mask becomes damp, torn or removed,” PriMed states.

Fact-checkers expose the mask reversal claim

Numerous fact-checkers have unmasked the claim, clarifying that disposable medical masks ought to always be used with the white, absorbent layer dealing with inward.

Verafiles, a Filipino verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network Code of Concepts, was among the very first to deal with the claim in January after the vice mayor of Manila, Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan, improperly showed how to wear a surgical mask.

The Manila Public Information Workplace then released a video of Lacuna-Pangan’s inaccurate presentation on its Facebook page. The original video has actually considering that been taken down, but copies are still readily available on YouTube.

The claim was also attended to by PolitiFact in February and the Associated Press in March.

Our ruling: False

We rate the claim that infected individuals should wear reversed disposable medical masks to avoid spreading COVID-19 as FALSE because it is not supported by our research. Medical professionals and a maker say disposable face masks should always be used with the wired edge up and colored side outward. Mask users should carefully deal with such masks after each usage and practice excellent hygiene to correctly prevent the spread of COVID-19 (For details on usage of fabric face coverings, here’s some pointers from the CDC.)

Our fact-check sources:

• USA TODAY, “US coronavirus map: Tracking the break out”
• USA TODAY, ” Trump: CDC advises voluntary use of face masks for public to stem spread of coronavirus”
• Eliminated Facebook Post
• The BNKT Health, HOME & Garden Journal Facebook Post
• When and how to wear medical masks to safeguard against the new coronavirus?
• San Francisco Department of Public Health, “How to Place on and Remove a Face Mask”
• World Health Organization, Wing Hong Seto
• QuickTake by Bloomberg, “WHO Shows the Correct Way to Wear a Face Mask to Fend Off Coronavirus”
• PriMed ASTM Mask Standards & IFU
• American Society of Screening and Products (ASTM) Standards
• Confirmed signatories of the IFCN code of principles
• International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Concepts
• VERA FILES FACT CHECK, Manila Vice Mayor Lacuna demos incorrect way to use surgical masks, calls it the ‘proper’ way
• Manila Public Info Workplace Eliminated Video
• Trending Ni Andres “Live Update Corona Infection Alert From Isko Moreno”
• PolitiFact, “Medical masks ought to be worn with the colored side out”
• Associated Press, “Online claims misrepresent how to wear a surgical mask”
• CDC, “How to Safeguard Yourself & Others”
• CDC, “Usage of Fabric Face Coverings to Assist Slow the Spread of COVID-19”

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