Masks with valves may be ineffective at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
“It defeats the purpose,” Dr. Kai Singbartl told the Arizona Republic. Singbartl, the head of infection prevention and control at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, added, “They are unfiltered. Those valves are the path of least resistance, so to speak. It’s easier to exhale and get rid of the heat and moisture.”
The valves in masks are designed to increase comfort by allowing air to escape when a person exhales.
But the valves also release viral droplets and particles, which are known transmitters of the virus.
Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration states that masks with valves “may not prevent the virus spreading from the wearer to others.”
The Mayo Clinic does not permit patients inside if they are wearing a mask with a valve.
Many places do not have specific restrictions against the use of such masks. And even those that do, such as Arizona’s Maricopa County, do not necessarily enforce them. A Maricopa County spokesperson told the Arizona Republic that Maricopa County Public Health is “not an enforcement agency.”
