Double-masking: We all know we should wear a mask. Should we now wear two of them?

We’re all accustomed to grabbing a face mask on our way out the door. But do we now need to grab two?

Because of the new, more easily transmissible coronavirus variants showing up in the U.S., many people have been wearing mask-over-mask for extra protection for months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now supports the practice, releasing new guidance this week that urges people to consider wearing two masks as one way to protect themselves from the more contagious virus variants.

The new guidance stresses the importance of improving the fit of face masks to make them work better, and one way to do that, the report says, is by wearing a cloth mask over a disposable surgical mask.

Another way is to improve the fit of a single surgical mask by knotting the ear loops for a snug fit, to keep the sides of the mask closer to the face, or to use a mask fitter or brace over a disposable mask for the same effect.

Both of those methods “reduced exposure to potentially infectious aerosols by more than 95 percent in a laboratory experiment using dummies,” according to The Washington Post.

Even before the CDC recommendation, people have been double-masking all over the place.

During a tour at Piedmont Health Senior Care in Pittsboro in late January, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen both wore cloth masks over surgical masks.

President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are both sometimes seen double-masking (but during a briefing on Jan. 29, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she wasn’t clear on why Biden sometimes wears an N95 mask under his cloth mask).

We asked NC DHHS about double-masking back in January, before the CDC statement on the matter, and a spokesperson told us that there is a scenario when it makes sense.

“While the efficacy of wearing two masks compared to one is currently unknown, it is recommended that masks have two or more layers, which can be achieved by doubling masks. If you do choose to double mask, make sure the masks cover your mouth and nose and that you can breathe comfortably through them.”

DHHS also reminds us that we should always wait six feet apart from others and wash our hands often.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and President Biden’s chief medical adviser, seemed to recommend double-masking in a “Today” show interview in late January, saying that wearing two masks “just makes common sense,” as it “likely would be more effective” in stopping transmission of the virus.

At an appearance a few days later, Fauci stressed the importance of wearing a mask, period.

“The most important thing is that everybody should be wearing a mask.” Fauci said.

In January, The Washington Post interviewed Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech engineering professor who has researched mask effectiveness, and Marr does recommend the additional protection of double-masking.

Marr told The Post that without a medical-grade face covering (such as an N95 mask), people can get the best, simplest protection by wearing a cloth mask tightly on top of a surgical mask.

This story has been updated to include new guidance from the CDC released on Feb. 10, 2021.

This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 12:50 PM.

Brooke Cain

The News & Observer

Brooke Cain is a North Carolina native who has worked at The News & Observer and McClatchy for more than 30 years as a researcher, reporter and media writer. She is the National Service Journalism Editor for McClatchy.