Question: One question I had regarding this new variant, some parents have said that they are double-masking now. Is this any more protective than standard measures? I know there is probably a lot of uncertainty in this question, but does double masking provide much more of a benefit for regular interactions, like grocery store, etc.?

Answer: Yes, evidence indicates that double masking is more protective than single masking. Even Dr. Fauci told NBC yesterday that double masking “likely does” help protect against the mutant strains, “It just makes common sense that it would be more effective.”  This new(ish) practice began to gain steam after a December commentary published in Cell picked up a lot of traction, Uniting Infectious Disease and Physical Science Principles on the Importance of Face Masks for COVID-19.  The commentary summarizes the evidence on face masks for preventing COVID-19 and concludes with the following set of recommendations for the general public, including the recommendation for wearing a cloth mask tightly on top of a surgical mask for maximal protection (Figure 1):

Based on our and others’ results, we recommend a high-quality surgical mask or a fabric mask of at least two layers with high thread count for basic protection (Figure 1, top panel) for the public. For maximal protection (Figure 1, bottom panel), members of the public can either (1) wear a cloth mask tightly on top of a surgical mask where the surgical mask acts as a filter and the cloth mask provides an additional layer of filtration while improving the fit; or (2) wear a three-layer mask with outer layers consisting of a flexible, tightly woven fabric that can conform well to the face and a middle layer consisting of a non-woven high-efficiency filter material (e.g., vacuum bag material). If the masks fit well, these combinations should produce an overall efficiency of >90% for particles 1 μm and larger, which corresponds to the size of respiratory aerosols that we think are most important in mediating transmission of COVID-19. 

If you’d like to read more, this article published in The Cut yesterday is helpful, Time to Start Double-Masking, as is this one published a couple of weeks ago in the NY Times, One Mask Is Good. Would Two Be Better?

Figure 1. Recommended masks for public (from Cell)