With Masks Required In Melrose, Which Ones Still Work?

MELROSE, MA — The rules are clear: Beginning Sunday, masks must be worn by everyone 5 and older in Melrose indoor spaces.

What isn't as clear is what masks are still considered effective at this stage of the pandemic.

While wearing cloth masks might be technically in compliance with the mask mandate, for practical purposes they aren't really protecting anyone due to omicron's level of infectiousness.

"The research has shown us that cloth masks have less impact especially during this time when omicron is one of the dominant variants out there," Health Director Anthony Chui said during Tuesday night's Board of Health meeting.

Board of Health member Frank Brincheiro, a doctor, took it one step further.

"Cloth masks do not do very much, especially if they're not the right type of cloth mask," he said.

WebMD: Why You Should Ditch Your Cloth Masks for 3-Ply Surgical Masks, N95s

Instead, health officials are saying 3-ply surgical masks (think the blue ones most closely associated with masking) are more effective, with KN95 and N95 masks considered "the gold standard," Chui said.

The problem is availability and cost. Not everyone is sitting on boxes of N95 masks.

Cloth masks still help when paired with a 3-ply surgical mask, but they simply aren't a good option on their own as we careen into 2022.

So why do cloth face coverings satisfy the mask requirement despite the relative ineffectiveness of cloth masks during the age of omicron? Brincheiro said in a perfect world everyone would use surgical masks, but it's just not feasible.

"I think we have to do the best we can," he said. "There's science and then there's applying public policy or applying something that's reasonable, that people will actually comply by."

Mayor Paul Brodeur said in the chat of Tuesday's meeting the city will make quality masks available for local businesses, but it wasn't immediately clear exactly what kind, when and how many.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook