Face Mask Guidance Issued by CDHP

public informationThis is a press release from the California Department of Public Health:

SACRAMENTO – California’s public health officials…released guidance on the use of cloth face coverings to protect against COVID-19 for Californians who must leave their homes to conduct essential activities. The guidance does not require people to wear face coverings – and is not a substitute for the state’s current guidance regarding social distancing and hand washing. The state also does not recommend Californians use N-95 or surgical masks, which are needed for our health care workers and first responders who will be there for when our lives at risk.

“Face coverings are not a substitute for physical distancing or frequent hand washing, which we know are amongst the most effective ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, Director of the California Department of Public Health and State Health Officer. “Wearing a cloth face covering could provide some additional benefit by acting as a reminder for other people to keep their distance, and it could help reduce the spread of infectious particles from those who could be infected but don’t have symptoms.”

“Face coverings could provide some additional protection against COVID-19, but Californians should not have a false sense of security if they choose to wear them. Make sure you’re also staying 6 feet away from other people if you have to leave your home to get groceries or prescriptions,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.

The new guidance reminds Californians that the best defense against COVID-19 continues to be:

  • Staying at home and physical distancing
  • Washing hands frequently
  • Avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Avoiding being around sick people

The use of cloth face coverings could reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by individuals who do not have symptoms and may reinforce physical distancing. Public health officials also caution that face coverings may increase risk if users reduce their use of strong defenses such as physical distancing and frequent hand washing.

For more information, please see the Face Coverings Guidance. 

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31 Comments
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Mobius Dancer
Guest
Mobius Dancer
3 years ago

IF the masks prevent asymptomatic people from sharing the plague, then masks should be required for all and sundry until the virus is no longer an issue.
You won’t know you have it unless you get tested or get sick. Testing is NOT an easy option, so just be considerate and wear a mask.
Filters can be inserted into some of the home-made masks — which may make them more effective. What sort of filters?
The suggestions I received were “non woven fiber” like hepa filter material, although someone used dried hand sanitizer sheets. I consider multiple layers of used dryer sheets or cut to fit sections of unused vacuum cleaner bags.
I’m no expert on these things, just looking for work-around hacks to keep us all alive.

Masks and plain white cotton gloves. Not the medical grade, but if you aren’t dealing with patients do you need medical grade?
Why plain white gloves? Unless you are dealing with wet things, the cotton will provide a barrier that you can WASH and use again. Cotton doesn’t make your hands sweat, so you’ll be more comfortable and (as I said) it takes the pressure off those who really need latex/nitrile protection.
Try photographer gloves (used at one time to handle negatives) which can be had inexpensively. I ordered Parade Gloves from Dharma Trading Company (faster than Amazon because they’re in Petaluma and not overwhelmed) at about $3 a pair. They should arrive today or tomorrow.
Which is good because I’m running low on a few things including nitrile gloves in size small.

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  Mobius Dancer

Good thoughts. Just actively doing something like making a mask makes for better sense of control in an out of control situation.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
3 years ago
Reply to  Mobius Dancer

Please don’t directly breathe through dryer sheets. The chemicals can’t be good for you.

kelley
Guest
kelley
3 years ago
Reply to  Mobius Dancer

Mobius…wearing a mask is good, but it does make it a little more tempting to touch your face to adjust the mask, and you already know the rules about that.

Osha certified Hepa filters are the best to put in the masks, but if we arent first responders or hospital employees, we should probably leave those materials for those peoples.

Any filter that has a static cling to it is going to be helpful because that static is part of what makes hepa work. It grabs micro particles and they dont escape easily.

I dont know why white, other than to remind us to wash them a lot. But disposable gloves are getting more scarce. Anything reusable is just that, and that helps make the disposable ones available for the ppl in the front lines. And cotton is a good fabric because it absorbs the moisture out of the virus which kills it.

Wash your hands.

Lynn H
Guest
Lynn H
3 years ago
Reply to  Mobius Dancer

You can possibly recycle latex or nitrile gloves, especially if you have enough of them. Toss them in a cardboard box for a week or 2. Make sure they’re not balled up. You can wear another pair of gloves and go through the box and turn each right side out. Toss in a garbage bag and douse with alcohol. Tie tight. Leave out of the sun for a day or 3 depending on temps. Shake the bag a few times and toss them around. if they don’t melt then they are perfectly sterile from the alcohol fumes.

Not sure if they’ll melt. I’m still tossing them in a box and haven’t tried the alcohol yet…

You can do the same with masks in a zip lock bag or just douse the heck out of them with alcohol. I’ve done that- works well.

FanOfGuest
Guest
FanOfGuest
3 years ago

To further social distancing I have set up a glory hole in my bedroom. keep hands and face away from suspecting partners… besides, gives me a great excuse to wear my polish gas mask too

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
3 years ago
Reply to  FanOfGuest

Enjoy your new source of protein and income. 😉

FanOfGuest
Guest
FanOfGuest
3 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

That’s funny….. good one stars.

Leland Salomon
Guest
Leland Salomon
3 years ago

Lies . No worse than China . So you don’t need them because they need them . They won’t save you ! They will only save them ! So F ing stupid . If you believe any of that you should have been born in China .

Virulent Humboldt conspiracies born and breed in Humboldt County
Guest
Virulent Humboldt conspiracies born and breed in Humboldt County
3 years ago
Reply to  Leland Salomon

Really born in China??? How ignorant are you? We all know that if you are born in Humboldt County you will DIE………………sooner or later.

Guest
Guest
Guest
3 years ago

I believe we should all be wearing masks. Why risk it? There are times in the grocery store when you are accidentally 4 ft. instead of 6. Even if infected people don’t cough or sneeze by you, you’re still possibly breathing the same air that was in their lungs. I believe it’s highly contagious and the kicker is sick people can appear to be healthy. Best wishes everyone

Wanano
Guest
Wanano
3 years ago

I wonder if ironing your mask with steam on would be a good way to clean . Its fast. Hot. And you dont have to wait for it to dry.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Wanano

No studies have been done but this page has some info for decontaminating N-95 masks (scroll to the bottom https://consteril.com/covid-19-pandemic-disinfection-and-sterilization-of-face-masks-for-viruses/) that should work for all face masks.

Chuck U
Guest
Chuck U
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Actually studies have been done, 30 minutes in the oven at 180 should do it. I don’t know about an iron. This was extensively researched since January by people who wanted to maximize usage of limited N95 masks. If you are just using a cloth mask you can probably just boil it for a minute or so. If you aren’t going out much you can just quarantine the mask for 9 days. If you go out daily, you need 9 masks for a quarantine regime.

The cloth mask they are asking you to use is a societal mask, it is made to keep your spittle off everyone else in case you are infected and don’t know. Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea all use mandatory societal masking and have very effectively flattened their curve WITHOUT SHUTTING DOWN THEIR ECONOMY AND COMMITTING SUICIDE. It is kinda smart, but then they don’t have a banking crisis like the west that requires gobs of money printing and a scapegoat for economic destruction (see expanding massive Fed injections into the overnight repo market since September).

The cloth mask offers about 50% reduction to the wearer of getting the virus but a huge benefit of trapping expelled infection. There are studies that show that the effectiveness of masking with just cloth can be increased by soaking the outer cloth layer in salt water and then dried. An early study by Chines doctors back in January to make a home made mask they claimed got you to 80% efficacy used a tighter weave of layered paper towels and tissue paper. So for me, if I was a checkout person at a store and needed to make a system at home, it would be an outside cloth layer I could soak in salt water and also boil after use, a middle layer of tissue and paper towels that could be easily replaced and discarded and a cotton cloth layer next to your face for comfort that can be boiled.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Chuck U

If you could link to the studies, it would help folks trying to figure out their best options.

Chuck U
Guest
Chuck U
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Ug, I have wasted too much time on this and just got neighbor alert we have cartel activity on our backroad. I have been following everything at peakprosperity.com since middle of January, an active excellent community of research with 150+ posts per day. The best research has been condensed into 3 megathreads that can be found here, all of your questions should be addressed. It is broken down by the daily blog topic and the comments for that day

https://peakprosperityfilelibrary.wordpress.com/

Broken down, the megathreads are:

Covid19: Sanitation, PPE and Self Quarantine Megathead
https://peakprosperityfilelibrary.wordpress.com/2020/03/13/example-post-3/

Covid19 – Home Preparation, Deep Pantry and Gardening Megathread
https://peakprosperityfilelibrary.wordpress.com/2020/03/13/example-post-2/

Covid19 – Medicinals, Herbals and Supplements Megathread
https://peakprosperityfilelibrary.wordpress.com/2020/03/13/example-post/

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Chuck U

Thank you.

Thirdeye
Guest
Thirdeye
3 years ago
Reply to  Chuck U

The big takeaway for me – and I learned about this from the “Hong Kong filter” made with paper towels via the South China Morning Post – is the vital role of breathable paper layers within the mask. The pores are much smaller than fabric pores and paper is apparently reactive with the virus, breaking its shell and neutralizing it. The Michigan doctor stated that a complete die-off of the virus on a grocery bag occurs after three hours. With a paper breath filter, that could be shortened with exhaled moisture and increased temperature increasing reactivity.

Lynn H
Guest
Lynn H
3 years ago
Reply to  Thirdeye

Paper up to 24 hours for die off. Plastic can be 3 to 5 days.

Lynn H
Guest
Lynn H
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Rubbing alcohol in a garbage bag works as well as their method of H2O2. And more thorough than wiping with bleach.

Their method of H2O2 involves using it at concentrations above 3% which is what you get at a grocery store. 3% is not enough. They don’t mention that in the link, but I’ve read some of those studies years ago. They also use specialized equipment to atomize the H2O2. It’s usually done in Lab or Hospital settings.

Either method will degrade the straps over time.

Alcohol will dissipate much much sooner than bleach fumes which are highly toxic. I leave my sterilized stuff outside until completely dry and then at least another 4 – 24 hours.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Lynn H

Thanks, Lynn.

FanOfGuest
Guest
FanOfGuest
3 years ago
Reply to  Wanano

Just attach rubber bands to Clorox wipes, cheap, very effective and disposable.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
3 years ago
Reply to  FanOfGuest

I’m pretty sure you’re joking, but please know people may take you seriously.

The chemicals in Chlorox wipes can’t be good to breathe.

FanOfGuest
Guest
FanOfGuest
3 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Just trying to find humor stars where I can….

Innocent Consumer
Guest
Innocent Consumer
3 years ago

Everything states that one shouldn’t use N95 masks because they are needed by medical professionals, which is understandable. I have two that I purchased three years ago. Am I okay to use those or will I suffer derision from those who think I’m abusing my privilege?

Chuck U
Guest
Chuck U
3 years ago

If it has a valve, demonstrated by anything protruding off the mask, and it is still in it’s wrapper, donate it to medical professionals. The valve expels the virus if you are infected and is inappropriate for societal masking. Older, unvalved masks that are not packaged should be encouraged to be used as it offers 2 way protection for the user and all others. I have 5 from when I built my house 12 years ago, they were covered with mud dauber nests and paper wasp carcasses and probably had haunta virus. I won’t donate for obvious reasons but will wear them myself.

NL
Guest
NL
3 years ago

Just hold your breath. Don’t breathe in any toxins.

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
3 years ago

the Presidents team announced this, these people are just repeating it. probably because they dont want you to hear it from them.

https://youtu.be/n1y9KOesF6w

thetallone
Guest
thetallone
3 years ago
Reply to  tax payer

Yeah, the president…the guy who stands shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of other people on TV every day. The stable genius.

Chuck U
Guest
Chuck U
3 years ago

Homemade masks

https://www.peakprosperity.com/forum-topic/homemade-mask/

If you want to be fully educated why everyone should wear a mask watch this

https://www.peakprosperity.com/how-well-beat-the-coronavirus/

Lynn H
Guest
Lynn H
3 years ago

About time they say this.