With the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, people have been taking extra precautions to avoid getting sick—some would even wear one face mask on top of another, hoping that it would provide an extra layer of protection against the virus. But is it truly necessary?
According to Dr. Beverly Ho, DOH Director for Health Promotion and Communication Service and Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, wearing one face mask is enough. "Currently, we don't recommend and our experts don't recommend double masks yet," she clarifies during a Summit Sandwich Session.
Additionally, Dr. Ho mentioned that wearing face masks at home is an "option," especially since household transmission has been driving the latest surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.
She explains, "We have, in the past, mentioned that if you do have vulnerable family members at home, kunwari kayo 'yong nag wo-work tapos sila 'yong nag s-stay diba so nag advice naman tayo na in those cases, very limited 'yong space sa bahay, then masking is going to be an option even at home."
Dr. Ho answers more frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 pandemic in the video below: