Two Michigan Casinos Prohibit Use of Certain Masks

Sometimes it can be a real challenge remembering to wear a mask when you go out in public. If you're planning on going to a couple of Michigan casinos, you'll now have to make sure you're wearing the appropriate one.

According to MLive, starting today, the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant and the Saganing Eagles Landing Casino & Hotel near Standish will no longer permit the use of neck gaiters, bandannas, or masks with ventilation valves.

The reason the masks are no longer permitted is because they're apparently less effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website explains why people shouldn't wear masks with exhalation valves or vents.

The purpose of masks is to keep respiratory droplets from reaching others to aid with source control. However, masks with one-way valves or vents allow air to be exhaled through a hole in the material, which can result in expelled respiratory droplets that can reach others. This type of mask does not prevent the person wearing the mask from transmitting COVID-19 to others.

In a story I read by the Washington Post, they were talking about a mask study where out of the 14 masks and other coverings tested, the study found that some easily accessible cotton cloth masks are about as effective as standard surgical masks, while popular alternatives such as neck gaiters made of thin, stretchy material may be worse than not wearing a mask at all.