In light of Surgeon General tweet [1] demanding Americans stop buying masks because they’re not effective, to save them for healthcare workers who need them, he

In light of Surgeon General tweet [1] demanding Americans stop buying masks because they’re not effective, to save them for healthcare workers who need them, here is some info from the manufacturer: > In conclusion, surgical/procedure masks are intended to help put a barrier between the wearer and the work environment or sterile field. They may help keep spit and mucous generated by the wearer from reaching a patient or medical equipment. They can also be used as a fluid barrier to help keep blood splatter from reaching the wearer’s mouth and nose. > However, surgical/procedure masks cannot provide certified respiratory protection unless they are also designed, tested, and government-certified as a respirator. If a wearer wants to reduce inhalation of smaller, inhalable particles (those smaller than 100 microns), they need to obtain and properly use a government-certified respirator, such as a NIOSH-certified N95 filtering facepiece particulate respirator. If the wearer needs a combination surgical/procedure mask and a particulate respirator, they should use a product that is both cleared by FDA as a surgical/procedure mask and tested and certified by NIOSH as a particulate respirator. Such products are sometimes called a "medical respirator," "health care respirator," or "surgical N95." Includes decision tree highlighting potential considerations for the selection of respirators verses surgical/procedure masks. 1. Tweet text: Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk! https://twitter.com/surgeon_general/status/1233725785283932160 https://twitter.com/surgeon_general/status/12337257852839321...