Face shields, which can be quickly and affordably produced and distributed, should be included as part of strategies to safely and significantly reduce transmission in the community setting,
To be most effective in stopping viral spread, a face shield should extend to below the chin. It should also cover the ears and "there should be no exposed gap between the forehead and the shield's headpiece.
No studies have yet been conducted to see how well face shields help keep exhaled or coughed virus from spreading outwards from an infected wearer, Perencevich and his colleagues said, and they hope that studies on that issue will be conducted.
And they stressed that face shields should only be one part of any infection control effort, along with social distancing and hand-washing.
While we don't have hard trials or data on the efficacy of face shields at this time, early data from their use in patients with influenza [which is droplet-spread] is promising," he noted. "What's clear is that their success in hospital settings provides the basis for their utility in the community setting as we relax physical distancing going forward."