Wearing masks has become a part of life over the last year and a half, but with the more contagious delta variant, how can you be sure your cloth mask is still protecting you?Many have been wearing some of the same cloth masks for the last year and a half, and while experts say there's no specific timeframe to replace them, it's a good idea to check certain key points to make sure they're still doing their job."The cloth mask that I wear is meant to protect you and the cloth mask you wear is meant to protect me," said Dr. Esti Schabelman, chief medical officer of Sinai Hospital.But now that the delta variant is on the scene, can cloth masks protect you from getting sick? Doctors say it is the most contagious COVID-19 variant yet."People who are infected with the delta variant shed a lot more virus than other versions of this virus, so any mask is going to be less protective against, for example, the alpha variant," said Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.If you're using cloth masks, it's important to check it and make sure it still fits well and is in good shape.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends checking a mask for loose earloops, and signs of wear 바카라 게임 웹사이트� they recommend holding it up to the light to make sure the light doesn't come through it. And, as with any mask, it needs to fit properly."A mask should fit snugly against your face. It should cover up to the bridge of your nose, over your mouth and chin. It should be snug. It shouldn't have major holes at the bottom where air can escape or on the sides. It should be something that fits your face, and you can tell it's actually protecting you from breathing on other people," Adalja said.With such a wide variety of cloth masks and some homemade, Adalja said medical or surgical masks might provide better protection because they are made to a certain standard.In fact, some hospitals like Sinai don't allow cloth masks. You have to wear the medical-grade masks inside."We're in a healthcare environment. It's a high-risk environment, and we want to provide the best level of protection for everyone both from a we want to stay healthy and keep you healthy, and so the surgical masks are best able to do that," Schabelman said.Experts agree that any mask you wear is better than no mask when it comes to slowing the spread of COVID-19."Mask wearing continues to be a cornerstone of preventing the spread of the pandemic, and if everyone is wearing their masks, that's the way we're really going to make progress," Schabelman said.Doctors said if you wear a good fitting mask, there's no need to double mask, especially if you are vaccinated.