One-way masking works, expert says
BETHESDA, Md. - Mask mandates are being rolled back in states all over the country and here in the DMV.
At a press conference on Monday morning, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said, "Masks will not be required at restaurants and bars or sports and entertainment venues" beginning Feb. 28.
That doesn’t, however, mean it's news everybody is ready to hear.
"Frankly I prefer to have a mask," Julia Fendrick said outside a Bethesda grocery store Monday afternoon. "I think it’s a lot safer."
She’s not the only one. So, given ongoing concerns, FOX 5 reached out to an expert to see just how effective one-way masking really is.
"If somebody is wearing a mask that’s well-fitting, that’s an adequate mask, one-way masking works," explained Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. He added that he’s ok with mask mandates being rolled back.
"I do think right now, as we have tools like vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, antivirals, rapid tests, and we’re seeing cases fall, and we’ve learned so much about this virus, what activities are high risk, what activities are low risk, that I think it makes sense to start removing these mask mandates," Dr. Adalja continued. "We’ve got much more precise tools than the blunt tool that a mask is."
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But how about the notion, oft-repeated early in the pandemic, that wearing a mask is about protecting others, not yourself?
"When you’re making public health guidance, and you’re trying to stick to what the science shows at that time, it wasn’t clear that the wearer got benefits, but that became clear over time, and it’s even more so the case as we see much more availability of N9’s, KN95s to the general public," Adalja said. "Remember, when we’re in the hospital, we’re wearing masks that are very similar to what people now have access to in the general public, so they do provide protection."