Coronavirus: should you wear a mask while driving?

With the outbreak of Corona Virus pandemic around the globe,many motorists wear a mask while driving. The question is: is it really useful?

According to the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health, a surgical mask greatly limits the projection of germs present in the respiratory tract of the person who wears it outwards but is not intended to protect its user from contamination. It is for single use and its effectiveness lasts only a few hours.

Therefore, if you are alone in using your vehicle, it is useless to wear a surgical mask on board. Its use is to be favored during contacts with other people.

However, if you are sick, you can wear nose masks so as not to contaminate your interlocutors. According to a recent study, the coronavirus could last several days in the interior of a car.

If the latter is shared with fragile people, a surgical mask can therefore reduce the risk of contamination of other users of the vehicle, in particular indirect by avoiding the projection of droplets and other particles potentially carrying the virus on the surfaces of the passenger compartment.

The usefulness of surgical masks therefore depends on the context in which they are used; their rarity and their short duration of effectiveness should encourage their informed use.

However, if the government made it compulsory for motorists and pedestrians to wear nose masks, then it’s necessary you wear nose mask while driving.