Men may need to hack off their muttonchops, void their Van Dykes or pluck their ducktails if they plan on using a respirator, according to information from the CDC about how facial hair can interact with the devices.
A graphic released by the agency shows the fashionable facial-hair-wearer which styles will conflict with potentially life-saving respirators as the US braces for the quickly spreading coronavirus to emerge state-side.
Handlebar, walrus, and Zorro mustaches are fine, but the CDC says folks may need to lose their Fu Manchus, Dalis, and Garibaldis because they could prevent respirators from making a seal on wearers’ faces.
And while a clean-shaven face is OK, stubble could cause trouble, the agency warned.
Standard beards and chops are also risky, as the hair could come in contact with a respirator’s exhalation valve, reducing their effectiveness, the graphic said.
Goatees are good to go — but only if a mask-wearer’s chin hair doesn’t cross the seal.
Face masks and respirators are being used worldwide to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has reached nearly every continent in the world, with more than 80,000 cases confirmed globally.