SUNDRE — Albeit no silver bullet solution that will single-handedly stop COVID-19, non-medical masks are nevertheless an important factor in substantially reducing the spread of the virus and bringing the pandemic under control, a local physician said last week.
However, cloth masks must be worn and used properly in combination with other measures in order to work effectively, says Dr. Michelle Warren, the Alberta Medical Association’s president-elect.
“First, keeping your distance (from others) at least two metres and keeping encounters short is helpful,” said Warren, who with husband Dr. Rob Warren runs Moose & Squirrel Medical Clinic in Sundre.
Then, if both parties are wearing masks, any cough, sneeze, or spittle stays inside the mask, or is expelled upwards or behind the person speaking, said Warren by email in response to questions.
Proper use
But to work, she added, masks must be worn properly.
“Cover the nose and mouth. Don’t touch the front of the mask with your hand — (this) will contaminate your hand,” she said.
“It is well proven that the virus clings to hands, and by rubbing your eyes or nose, touching your mouth, is all it takes to give yourself the virus.”
The virus itself does not move and relies on carriers to spread, whether by coughing, sneezing, touching one’s face and then handling common surfaces such as door knobs and telephones.
Hence the crucial importance of refraining from touching your face and frequently washing your hands or using hand sanitizer, she said.
“All of these measures work to minimize spread to those at risk. As we are infectious for 48 hours before we are sick, we can expose those we care about to a virus that is not a hoax.”
Minimal ask
The point of putting on a mask, she explained, is to protect other people from what the wearer could potentially be carrying. This works for all cold viruses, not just COVID-19. And if the other person is also wearing a mask, then they mutually protect one another, she said.
So, Warren said she “absolutely” encourages their use, but heavily stressed the importance of following other measures.
“It is a minimal ask to try to keep the virus from spreading in our community and resulting in lockdowns like we are seeing," she said.
Explaining how non-medical masks work, she said a virus travels primarily inside large droplets that are captured by the face covering.
“But over-the-counter masks and handmade ones won’t trap the smaller particles that an aerosolized virus actually is. For that, a medical grade mask — N95 — is needed,” she said.
“So, in our clinic, any symptomatic patient we see must wear one of the medical masks we provide to help reduce this spread.”
While she recognized the approach is imperfect, Warren said that it takes many viral particles to make a person sick.
“Some studies have linked the more serious cases to exposure to higher virus counts," she said.
In other words, the fewer virus particles escape from a mask — either medical, handmade or over-the-counter — the less severe the outcome of an infection is likely to be, she said.
CO2 poisoning concerns
Responding to unsubstantiated claims that wearing a mask actually causes people to contract COVID-19 or even suffer from CO2 poisoning, Warren laughed.
“Honestly folks, surgeons operate for hours on end on your brains, hearts and other delicate organs pre-COVID,” she said.
“And with that, you survive with less infections, and zero per cent have any CO2 poisoning or brain damage.”
Oxygen easily passes through a mask, as does carbon dioxide, without causing complications, she said.
“Yes, they are uncomfortable — ask any health-care provider. Yes, your ears hurt after hours in them. Yes, they fog the glasses,” she said.
“But making someone sick or getting sick yourself will be much worse.”
Asked how common serious health issues that would legitimately prevent someone from wearing a mask are, she said such instances are exceptionally rare.
“Those who have significant health issues are not going out. But the delivery boy can infect them, as can folks in common areas. It is primarily an anxiety issue, and we work with them to help folks overcome it," she said.
"It is not a hoax"
Warren understands people’s frustration, and said she loathes being unable to do the things she enjoys as a result of restrictions.
“But my horror of choosing who gets an ICU (intensive care unit) bed, or oxygen for their pneumonia, is a much more serious thing. So, we need to do something to get things controlled,” she said.
“In March, we were very effective and numbers dropped. And now, we are tired and looking for it to stop. But it is not. There is a reason Alberta has asked for field hospitals to be set up to help with numbers. It is not a hoax.”
Meanwhile, although every other province in Canada has issued mandatory mask mandates in the face of surges not experienced even during the initial lockdowns last spring, the ruling UCP has refrained from following suit, and Warren is not particularly impressed with the provincial government's response.
“I feel our government has let our population down by pursuing a course of action that failed elsewhere," she said.