(WTXL) — As new strains of the COVID-19 virus arise, doctors are now suggesting taking extra precautions like double masking or layering masks.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the president and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, spoke earlier this week about the benefits of double masking.
"If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective," Fauci said on NBC News' TODAY. "That's the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N-95."
Dr. Fauci isn't the only expert to advocate for double masking recently.
A Virginia Tech study conducted in January tested the effectiveness of 11 face coverings for material filtration efficiency, inward protection efficiency, and outward protection efficiency.
Based on their findings, researchers recommended a “three-layer mask consisting of outer layers of a flexible, tightly woven fabric and an inner layer consisting of a material designed to filter out particles.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not recommended double masking, but it does recommend masks with multiple layers of protection.
The CDC also recommends practicing proper hand hygiene and social distancing.
