Department Of Health FAQ

What is a cloth face covering?

A cloth face covering is fabric that covers your nose and mouth and fit snugly against the sides

of the face and under the chin. It can be:

• A sewn mask with ties or straps that go around the head or behind the ears.

• Several layers of fabric tied around a person’s head.

• Made from a variety of materials like cotton, fleece, or linen.

• Factory-made or home-made.

If you would like to sew your own cloth face covering (mask) see: How to Sew a Face Mask

Do cloth face coverings stop the spread of COVID-19?

Cloth face coverings can reduce the release of virus particles into the air when a person with

COVID-19 speaks, coughs, or sneezes. You can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 when you

wear a cloth face covering, even if you don’t think you have COVID-19.

How do we know face coverings are effective?

Before the pandemic, there was not much research about the benefit of wearing cloth face coverings to prevent COVID-19. Some researchers compared countries that promoted face coverings as part of their early response to countries, like the US, that did not. The countries that promoted face coverings had fewer cases than countries that did not. Research is continuing and we are still learning more, but COVID-19 can be spread by people who do not know they have it. The virus that causes COVID-19 is spread by droplets you exhale as you breathe, as well as when you talk, sing, cough or sneeze. If you wear a face covering, you help keep those droplets to yourself.

Who should wear a cloth face covering?

Most people should wear a face covering in public. Wear a face covering in indoor public spaces

except when you eat, and outdoors when you cannot stay six feet (or two meters) away from others at all times.

Some people should not wear cloth face coverings:

• Children under two years of age. • People who have disabilities that:

o Prevent them from comfortably wearing or taking off face coverings.

o Prevent them from communicating while wearing face coverings.

• People who have respiratory conditions or breathing trouble.

• People who have been told by a medical, legal, or behavioral health professional not to wear face coverings.

MORE INFO https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/ClothFacemasks.pdf