Is Maine's rise in COVID-19 cases linked to face mask use? No, that is misleading: A social media post showed a newspaper article claiming that the surge in coronavirus cases in Maine were the result of Gov. Janet Mills' mandate for citizens of the New England state to wear face masks. The claim uses statistics from a CDC published study…

Do many studies find that cloth masks don't stop viruses like COVID? No, that's not true: An article making that claim does not cite any recent or specific studies showing masks don't work. To the contrary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites several studies as the basis for recommending the "community use of masks, specifically non-valved multi-layer cloth…

Did Dr. Anthony Fauci -- a leader of the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- write a research study in 2008 that proves the unmasked buried the masked during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and that masks were the reason so many died of bacterial pneumonia? No, that's not true: Fauci's research report describes a lethal interaction of…

Did an anti-mask group of doctors prove its claim that masks are "irrelevant" to the prevention of COVID-19? No, that's not true: The 19 people in white lab coats who stood in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to make the claim did not provide a citation to published research papers nor supply records to support their claim that masks…

Did a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report conclude masks are not effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19? No, that's not true: The study concluded new safety measures are needed at dining establishments because even mask-wearers who went out for drinks or meals were twice as likely to be infected as those who did not. Plus, an…

Did the Occupational Safety and Health Administration say cloth face masks offer no COVID-19 protection and lower the wearer's available oxygen to dangerously low levels? No, that's not true. Numerous OSHA publications recommend the masks as a means to protect others, as protection from touching the face and as an effective way to keep asymptomatic carriers from spreading droplets. Moreover,…

Is microwaving a face mask in plastic baggies a good way to kill COVID-19 particles on the mask? No, it is not. Research shows that hydrogen peroxide will kill the virus on masks, but no proof has been found that microwaving kills the novel coronavirus. Moreover, microwaving can melt the plastic bag and burn the fabric. The claim that microwaving…