masks
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Former mayor of South Bend Pete Buttigieg (R) arrives with his husband Chasten Buttigieg to the West Front of the U.S. Capitol during the 59th presidential inauguration ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. During today's inauguration ceremony Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch - Pool/Getty Images)

Two Masks: Hey Guys, Science Suggests It’s Time You Start Double-Bagging Your Face

Just when we thought we finally figured out COVID-19 prevention strategies, Dr. Anthony Fauci (who we still adore, don’t get us wrong) throws us another coronavirus-shaped curveball. Most of us are now accustomed to wearing a mask everywhere we go (unless you’re an asshole like Bruce Willis). But the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says that’s not enough, and that in fact, the best way to prevent the spread of COVID is to double mask.

Yup, you heard the man. Two masks are better than one.

“If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci told TODAY. “That’s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.”

The double-masking trend took off during Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony. Poet Amanda Gorman and former presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg both layered a cloth mask atop a disposable surgical mask.

Apparently, the surgical mask (which tends to be looser than other types of masks) acts as a filter and the cloth mask holds all that protection firmly against your face.

So, like your groceries, your safest bet right now is to double-bag your face. (But when it comes to condoms, the advice is still to stick to one.)

With new executive orders signed by President Biden last week, masks will be required on airplanes, trains, and buses, as well as at airports and on federal property. You might as well stock up on surgical and cloth masks now. With the painfully slow rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, double-masking is our first line of defense, and it’s going to be a good long while until we’ll all be naked-faced again.

Cover Photo: Pool (Getty Images)

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