There are 2 times when you should wear a mask at home, says experts

New Delhi : It is the new normal now when we step out of our home we never miss to wear a mask, but do you know that we need to wear a mask inside the house also. And there are two circumstances where the experts recommend doing it.

“Whenever you have someone who is coming into your home that's not a member of your immediate household, they should wear a mask, you should wear a mask, you and whoever else is in the house should wear the mask,” says Soniya Gandhi, MD, associate chief medical officer, Cedars-Sinai/Marina Del Rey Hospital. 

“You don't know if that person is infectious — people can be asymptomatic and can still transmit the virus. Wearing masks and maintaining as much physical distance as possible when somebody is coming into your home are the cornerstones of trying to mitigate the risk of transmission,” says Gandhi as per a report in Today.

This recommendation extends to friends and family who don’t live with you, says Gandhi. “There's an assumption that because people are family outside of your immediate household, that maybe you somehow have less risk. That's unfortunately just not true,” she says.

If someone in your home comes down with COVID symptoms (including common cold symptoms like a stuffy nose, low grade fever, and a sore throat) it might be a good idea for them — and you — to mask up until they get tested when in shared spaces. “If anyone has any symptoms in the house, you should assume it's COVID until proven otherwise,” says Gandhi.