No more cloth masks? Mayo Clinic asks patients, visitors to wear surgical masks instead

As the omicron coronavirus variant spreads quickly across the United States, a prestigious hospital is asking patients and visitors to forgo cloth masks in favor of ones that can offer more protection.

Mayo Clinic, the highly regarded hospital based out of Rochester, Minnesota, said Wednesday, Dec. 29 it is asking people to not wear the popular cloth masks at their facilities. Mayo Clinic will provide a surgical mask upon entry if patients and visitors do not have one.

The announcement comes as the country has seen its highest number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with an average of 265,000 cases per day being driven by the omicron variant, according to The Associated Press.

Cloth masks, experts say, do not offer the same protection as masks of higher quality, McClatchy News reported.

“While a high-quality cloth mask may perform similarly to a medical-grade mask, patients and visitors use a wide range of face coverings, making standardization necessary,” Mayo Clinic said. “Single-layer cloth masks, neck gaiters and bandannas are commonly worn, for example, and do not provide optimal protection to help ensure the health and safety of all.”

Gaiters, bandannas and masks with exhalation valves will not be allowed at Mayo Clinic, and patients will be required to wear a medical-grade mask in their place. For all other masks, including cloth masks, Mayo Clinic will provide an alternative, but will not require patients and visitors to wear it.

N95 or KN-95 masks without vents are encouraged at Mayo Clinic, along with other surgical or procedural masks with a tie or ear loop.

Cloth masks were encouraged early in the pandemic due to a national shortage of medical-grade masks, but now experts are shifting away from encouraging their use.

“Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations,” Dr. Leana Wen, a public health professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, said on CNN.

Trish Greenhalgh, professor of primary health care services at the University of Oxford, agreed that most cloth masks are merely “fashion accessories.” She told Bloomberg double or triple-layer masks can be more effective.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information say N95 masks are designed to capture more than 95% of aerosols, while cloth masks capture about 50% of aerosols. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also noted “the filtration effectiveness of cloth masks is generally lower than that of medical masks and respirators; however, cloth masks may provide some protection if well designed and used correctly.”

Mayo Clinic is the first major health institution in the U.S. to go as far as banning non-compliant masks and it’s not yet known if other healthcare facilities will follow suit.

This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 9:06 AM with the headline "No more cloth masks? Mayo Clinic asks patients, visitors to wear surgical masks instead."