SANDWICH Temperatures at the Sandwich Marina on Friday morning stood at the freezing mark, with a bitter wind and driving snow. Despite this, 25 crewmen and captains from Cape and New Bedford fishing vessels sat down in slushy snow to wriggle into what could be the most important article of clothing they will ever try on.
They call them Gumby suits, and it’s easy to see why. A survival suit is bright orange with oversized hands and feet and a tight-fitting hood that reveals only a small moon of flesh: eyes, nose and mouth.
The water temperature in the marina was 47 degrees, and Dan Orchard, the vice president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, had the men suit up and jump into the water within a half-hour of arrival. The shock of going from comfort to cold, disorienting water temperatures was about as close to the real thing as could be had shoreside.
TOM BIHN
Medical experts understand the challenge of finding a face mask that s both comfortable and protective.
Four doctors and one mask researcher told Business Insider the masks they recommend for situations outside of hospitals and clinics.
Some recommended DIY options, while others suggested multi-layer masks that have undergone independent filtration tests.
To pick the right face mask, doctors often recommend a simple trick: Try blowing out a candle while wearing it. A good mask should prevent you from extinguishing the flame.
But it can be difficult to know whether a mask will pass the candle test just by looking at it.
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Presented by Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs
With David Lim, Brianna Ehley, Rachel Roubein and Emily Martin
On Tap
as government prepares massive rollout. States report declines in vaccine allotment while Pfizer insists it has millions of doses stocked.
Masks may soon come with labels saying how well they work.
Masks for sale in Los Angeles on Friday.Credit.David Walter Banks for The New York Times
Dec. 18, 2020
They come in an astonishing variety of colors, designs and materials, but what the 100,000-plus face masks that have hit the market don’t come with is a label that says how well they block infectious particles.
That could soon change.
A set of standards for minimum filter efficiency and labels indicating which products meet them are being developed for the bewildering marketplace for masks and other face coverings.
Guidelines are expected to be made public in January, after months without federal oversight of the quality of the masks and face coverings that have become critical to the fight to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Masks to have labels soon A division of the CDC is working to develop minimum filter efficiency standards and labels showing which products meet them
More than 100,000 varieties of face masks are currently for sale. They come in silk, cotton and synthetics; with filters and without; over-the-head and over-the-ears. They have sparkles and sunflowers; friendly greetings and insults; cartoon characters and teeny reindeer.
What they don’t have is a label that shows how well they block infectious particles, an omission that has frustrated public health officials during the coronavirus pandemic. Those experts note that there is a big range in the effectiveness of various designs, and some barely filter out particles at all.