The message has changed. State officials announced Friday that all Pennsylvanians should wear a mask any time they leave their homes.
During a Friday afternoon press conference, Gov. Tom Wolf made the recommendation as a way to ramp up efforts to stop COVID-19.
Dr. Rachel Levine, the state health secretary, said wearing a manufactured, homemade mask, or bandana over a person’s nose and mouth is fine, noting N-95 masks could be better used by workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
“Two days ago, I amplified our social distancing efforts by instituting a statewide stay-at-home order, and today I am asking all Pennsylvanians to wear a mask any time they leave their houses,” Wolf said. “Masks help prevent people from sharing illnesses. But, they don’t do a great job at keeping people from getting sick; and, they’re not foolproof, so it is critical that our first act is to ask ourselves if we really need to leave our house. If we don’t really, truly need to leave, then we shouldn’t.”
State health officials issued guidance to the public on universal masking and information on how residents could make their own masks.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially told the public masks were only needed by health care workers and people who were sick. However, federal officials have begun changing their advice and may announce over the weekend that everyone going outside should cover their face as the number of cases in the United State rises.
“Wearing a mask will help us cut down the possibility that we might be infecting an innocent bystander, like the grocery store cashier, the pharmacist, or someone stocking shelves,” Wolf said. “These people are keeping us alive by getting us the supplies we need. We owe it to them to do everything we can to keep them safe. Right now, that means wearing a mask.”
Stat News first reported the White House and CDC was considering changing the guidance.
“Such face coverings, according to the draft guidance, would not be intended to protect the wearer, but rather prevent the wearer from unknowingly spreading the disease when in public. Individuals should wear face coverings in public settings like grocery stores, the guidance said. Children under the age of 2 and people experiencing trouble breathing would be excluded from the mask guidelines,” according to State News, a health care-focused news organization.
