Which will protect you better — a mask or a face shield?

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As cases of COVID 19 continue to increase, many people are finding different ways to keep their faces covered.

Many are asking which is more effective: face shields or masks.

“I don’t recommend face shields for anyone,” said Dr. Rodger MacArthur is a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Office of Academic Affairs at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

He says the best way to keep yourself protected from the coronavirus is to wear a mask.

“The face shield will give me protection mostly against splashes in the eyes,” he said.

He says a face shield may be more comfortable to wear, but it doesn't fit over the cheeks, over the nose and mouth, and elsewhere like a mask.

He says masks have been shown to reduce the distance any aerosol droplet would travel.

“Masks work,” he said. “I think we can return to some reasonable normalcy if we all do our part by social distancing and wearing masks.”

Health officials say if you are going to wear a face shield, wear a mask underneath for added protection.

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