Should I wear a face mask?

Masks help protect you and others from getting and spreading COVID-19. The CDC recommends wearing a non-medical mask when in public or around people outside your household.

What you need to know

When you wear a mask, you protect others as well as yourself. Masks work best when everyone wears one.

A mask is NOT a substitute for social distancing. Masks should still be worn in addition to staying at least 6 feet apart, especially when indoors around people who don’t live in your household.

Masks should completely cover the nose and mouth and fit snugly against the sides of face without gaps.

Masks should be worn any time you are traveling on a plane, bus, train, or other form of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.

People age 2 and older should wear masks in public settings and when around people who don’t live in their household.

Wear a mask inside your home if someone you live with is sick with symptoms of COVID-19 or has tested positive for COVID-19.

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol after touching or removing your mask.

Masks may not be necessary when you are outside by yourself away from others, or with people who live in your household. However, some areas may have mask mandates while out in public, so please check the rules in your local area (such as in your city, county, or state). Additionally, check whether any federal mask mandates apply to where you will be going.

CDC continues to study the effectiveness of different types of masks and update our recommendations as new scientific evidence becomes available. The most recent scientific brief is available here: Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 | CDC

CDC recently conducted a study in a laboratory that tested the performance of different mask combinations.

There are several easy methods to improve the performance of your mask. Visit CDC’s Improve the Fit and Filtration of Your Mask to Reduce the Spread of COVID-19