It’s time to upgrade your mask — and especially get rid of cloth masks — if you haven’t done so already, say school officials.
Following assistant principal Brian Thompson’s email announcement of the district’s plan to supply the masks, all sixth period teachers distributed two KN95 masks to each student because of the rapid spread of omicron on Jan. 21. Moving into the first week of February, the school will continue to provide all students with two KN95 masks biweekly in their English classes, and replacements will be available in the office when needed, according to principal Greg Louie’s Jan. 28 Friday Newsletter.
The distribution came about because cloth masks have been shown to be ineffective at curbing the spread of omicron: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that cloth masks provide the least protection, while N95s offer the “highest level of protection” by filtering out 95% of particles, making them the best fit for schools, since many students are in an enclosed space for hours at a time.
MIT Medical also conducted a study on cloth masks and found that “moisture retention, reuse and poor filtration could increase wearer’s risk of infection.” Scientists also believe that cloth masks may be able to act as a barrier to prevent COVID-19 particles from leaving the mask, but do not protect wearers from inhaling COVID-19 particles.
As for surgical masks, the FDA says that they can block “large droplets, splashes and sprays” but are defenseless against tiny particles from coughs or sneezes.
To enforce the policy banning cloth masks, Thompson said that students seen wearing cloth masks will be asked to replace it with a KN95, which is always available at the attendance office and the health office.
Senior Aryan Gupta, who used to wear cloth masks because “it was more convenient,” now wears KN95s in light of new information on masks’ effectiveness against the omicron variant. He only wears cloth masks if he doesn’t have a fresh KN95 available, but now with a constant supply of KN95 at school, Gupta said he won’t wear a cloth mask “for the most part.”
“Masks can be worn every other day for two weeks before new masks are needed,” Thompson said. “The cost of the masks are expensive, and we want to make sure the masks are used according to the appropriate lifespan of the material.”
Senior Christopher Okuno is one of several students continuing to wear a cloth mask.
“I’m not really sure if I can say there’s any real deep reason for it,” he said. “I believe it’s been relatively effective, and I like the mask that I have. If, for any reason, I begin to think the risk of me spreading COVID-19 has risen, I will start doubling up.”
The funding for these masks comes from the In-Person Learning Grant, a one-time state fund that was received late last school year, according to chief business officer Delores Perley. Providing both staff and students with KN95 masks cost about $30,000.
The administration hopes that the distribution and increased usage of KN95 masks will result in a lower percentage of students testing positive for COVID-19. However, this is not a substitute for the weekly COVID-19 testing, which will be required in the foreseeable future.