The City of Sioux Falls Health Department is reminding residents to do what you should to stay healthy during the flu season and protect against coronavirus.

Among the things noted, besides washing your hands, keeping surfaces clean, and staying home if you are sick, was to not buy masks to try to prevent contracting the virus.

“While it seems reasonable to think that wearing a mask will filter out some viruses that are circulating in our community,” say Dr. Tinguely, Chief Medical Officer for Falls Community Health and the City of Sioux Falls Health Department, “surgical masks won’t stop the wearer from inhaling small airborne particles, which can cause infection. To be effective, masks need to be properly fit and people who don’t know how to wear them properly tend to touch their faces a lot which can increase the spread of viruses.”

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So do what you would normally do to stay healthy during cold and flu season, which never included wearing a mask around. The masks are also more necessary for those who are helping the sick, like doctors and nurses.

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