Mask Etiquette: Doctors weigh in on how to wear and remove masks safely
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - When getting ready for lunch at an outdoor patio Robert Grimmesey with Moxie Cafe says customers have been good about wearing their mask.
"It’s been going really well. Most people are respectful and understand the new health orders so people are coming into the restaurant and wearing a mask and when they start eating their permitted to take the mask off," said Grimmesey.
But there are different ways to put a mask on and take it off safely.
“What we’re wearing masks for is to protect others from our own respiratory droplets. So it’s the inside surface of the mask that you really have to be aware of,” said Dr. Scott Robertson with Marian Regional Medical Center.
The mask should be stored some place where others can’t touch it.
"I usually just pull my mask down to my neck, and if I need to, I can just put it back up," said customer Brendan Teresa.
When you have to take off your mask, doctors say fold it in half. Then put it inside your pocket.
If you’re using a cloth mask, Robertson says it’s important that you wash it regularly. “If you could wash your mask every day that would be great. Even if you just had a mask for every day of the week and rotated them and wash them as you went through the week, that would also be a great alternative.”
"I wash them every two days. So once I wear it then I wash it and then I wear a different one," said Teresa.
Robertson wants everyone to understand that sharing a mask with someone else, even if it’s someone you know is not a good idea. “It’s very easy to do, especially if you have kids. But it’s important to try to keep the same mask on the same person in the family over a certain period of time. Because it really defeats some of the purpose of the mask by sharing it with others."
