The White House is reportedly set to recommend Americans wear a facemask while out in public to halt the spread of coronavirus.
Governor Edwards says the state is awaiting official federal recommendations before calling for public face mask usage in Louisiana, but there’s evidence that masks are effective.
“I think there is a growing consensus around this that the disease can spread perhaps more easily than they thought by people breathing and so forth, and so some covering of the mouth would aid that,” says Edwards.
Many Asian countries, which have had far more success than western countries in slowing COVID cases, practice widespread use of public mask-wearing during viral scares.
There’s been a rash of articles and tutorials in recent days about how to make your own facemask at home, and Edwards is asking folks to use those, and not N95s.
“What we don’t want to do is take the types of masks that are being worn by healthcare providers before they have enough,” says Edwards.
Most online tutorials say you only need some cloth, like handkerchiefs, and elastic bands to make the most basic DIY mask.
Edwards says if the CDC does call for masks it likely would not be an order.
“I don’t believe that I would ever issue an order that to go out in public that you have to wear a mask, nor would I issue something that says you cannot, so individuals are free to do this right now,” says Edwards.
The decision would be a sharp reversal in federal messaging. In March the US Surgeon General told Americans to stop buying masks because they don’t stop coronavirus transmission.
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