As long as he is not vaccinated, Minister Christian Dubé prefers to be extra careful by wearing two masks rather than one, even if Public Health does not currently recommend it.
“You can never be too careful”, argued Thursday the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, who before taking stock of the pandemic at a press conference, removed under the gaze of journalists, the two masks that he wore.
This time it was a face mask in the colors of the Carnaval de Québec, which runs until Sunday, superimposed on a surgical mask.
Mr. Dubé amused himself by saying that such a “beautiful mask” helped him to put “a little color” in his busy life, which leads him to multiply trips and meetings.
“I am not yet old enough to be vaccinated, so I take the maximum protection that I can have”, explained the minister more seriously.
Wearing the double mask is making headlines around the world, especially since the emergence of new, more transmissible versions of COVID-19.
Recommended in the United States
Immunologist and Senior Advisor to US President Joe Biden, Dr Anthony Fauci, is one of those who plead in his favor.
In a report released Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States’ leading federal agency for public health protection, agrees.
According to laboratory analyzes by the CDC, wearing a fabric mask over a disposable surgical mask would reduce exposure to highly infectious aerosols of new variants of the virus by 95%.
“Possible,” said Arruda
Asked whether Quebec was considering imitating the Americans by recommending the double mask, the national director of public health, Horacio Arruda, said he would study the issue with his experts.
“We are currently assessing the situation. You have to see on what basis it is done. And I’m not saying it wouldn’t be something that would be possible, ”said Dr Rue.
“In certain situations, on the other hand, for our health workers, in workplaces, etc., it will remain the mask of procedure, not necessarily duplicate”, he added, recalling that Health The public recently revised its opinion on the N95 type mask, which is now mandatory in hot areas.
“We will look at this with our experts, the recommendation of the CDC,” he concluded.
“You ask me, on a personal basis, if I find a good idea of times to double the mask under certain circumstances?” I believe in it and that’s why I do it as often as possible, ”added Minister Dubé alongside him.
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