WEAR A MASK, BUT DO IT RIGHT!

There is no question that masks help. They are not 100% but even the cloth masks can reduce the amount of particles you spread by 6x. They protect you from those around you and, more importantly, they protect others from you. I say more importantly because it shows everyone around you that you care about not spreading the virus if you have been infected. Wearing a mask is good for you and good for everyone else. No conspiracy, just common sense.

HOWEVER, if you don’t wear or handle it correctly, you may be actually making things worse.

The virus first infects, and resides in the nose and back of the nose (nasopharynx). When you exhale, most people do so through their noses so viral particles may come out. If you wear a mask only covering your mouth, you are only getting and providing half, if not less, of the protection it could provide. You must cover the whole mouth AND nose for full efficacy.
Stop readjusting the mask by touching the front or the top. You are simply either depositing virus there or picking it up from the mask and then you can infect yourself or any surfaces you touch.
Lastly, when you take off the mask, do so from the ear loops or head ties or from the side. Again if you touch the front, you may have just contaminated the mask

As far as decontamination goes, the virus won;t love for more than a few days, especially in the heat of a car on the dashboard in the sun. I keep 2-3 in my car and have a designated one to go in and out of my office. The cloth ones can be washed normally in the laundry. You don’t need bleach.

GLOVES. These are overall unnecessary. Although they might prevent you from getting the virus on your hands, the virus doesn’t penetrate the skin and if you do all the same things with gloves as you would with your hands, you may actually be worse off. I see people touching things with gloved hands, then adjusting their masks, then rummaging through their purses or bags… What’s the point? Just handle things as you would normally , carefully, but always wash your hands and/or use hand sanitizer.

Stay safe and be well.

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷