RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb A May study published in BMJ Global Health found that wearing a mask at home was 79 percent effective at curbing coronavirus transmission among family members if you began wearing the mask before symptoms emerged. It seems some state officials have begun to take notice of this finding, including Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami. At a July 23 coronavirus briefing, Suarez said, “I would tell our residents—and this is voluntary, this is not something that we can mandate—that they should consider, particularly if they have a multigenerational household, wearing masks indoors, at times, with their multigenerational residents, and also respecting social distance when they’re at home.” Suarez advising residents to wear masks at home is an effort to curb the significant number of cases that are originating inside the house, which—according to Suarez—is the largest category of coronavirus spread in Miami. Florida has received a lot of attention as one of America’s new COVID-19 epicenters, and Miami-Dade County is the fourth hardest-hit county in the country, according to data from John Hopkins University. How high are your chances of contracting the coronavirus at home? A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people are five times more likely to contract the coronavirus within their household than they are in public. So, although it may be uncomfortable to wear a mask at home, it could also be the key to stopping the spread of the virus—and keeping those that live with you healthy. And for more on how hotspots are containing COVID, This Is What Stopped Arizona’s Severe Coronavirus Surge, Doctor Says.
