Yes and no.

The reason we don’t wear masks universally during flu season is because influenza has an incubation period of one to four days.

This means that the period where you are infectious without knowing you are sick is very short. At most, you can pass the disease for a day and you aren’t VERY contagious until you show symptoms.



So, we can significantly slow influenza just by staying home when sick and masking up when sick if you have to go outside.

COVID-19 has an incubation period of 5 to 14 days and an extended presymptomatic infectious period. Not to mention the estimated 40% of people who never experience noticeable symptoms, which is much higher than with influenza.

You’re contagious with COVID-19 for several days before you know you have it, and even then it might just be the sniffles.

The norm in the future for cold and flu season should be masks any time you feel under the weather, just in case it’s flu or one of the flulike viruses that are worse than just a cold.