Everything You Need To Know About The New Face Mask Guidelines

In February, the CDC recommended that aside from health care workers, *only* people who were sick or taking care of those who were sick should wear masks. Now the CDC is recommending that members of the general public wear face masks or other face coverings when leaving their homes.

Although Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted in a press conference in January that when it comes to respiratory-borne viruses like the coronavirus, asymptomatic spread has never been the "driver" of outbreaks, recent insights from emerging data led Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, to tell NPR that the number of asymptomatic people who may be inadvertently spreading the virus "may be as many as 25%."

So essentially, the CDC doesn't want you to wear a face covering just to protect yourself; it also wants you to do it to protect the people around you, on the chance that you are an asymptomatic carrier. You can check out BuzzFeed News' reporting on potential asymptomatic spread for more deets.

Initially, the CDC advised that the virus was spread by droplets released when a person was coughing or sneezing, but emerging evidence led the federal agency to warn that simple "close proximity" with people who may be asymptomatic could be enough for transmission.

Essentially, the recommendations we're getting from the CDC are fluid: The agency is changing them as it better understands how the virus behaves and spreads between humans.

You'll find a step-by-step guide to using fabric, a T-shirt, or a bandana. If you can dream it, you can mask it.