BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Whether they're medical grade or homemade, face masks are the new norm.

It's been five days since Gov. Larry Hogan signed an executive order requiring Marylanders to wear face masks in grocery stores and on public transportation.

When you talk or cough tiny spit droplets escape your mouth.

These droplets can carry the virus, and a mask can contain them, or at the very least, reduce the distance they travel.

"Even if it's not not very good at stopping the droplets, at least it will have some effect on slowing down the puff of air that would carry them," Dr. Donald Milton, a Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, said.

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Even with face coverings it's important to practice social distancing. It's also important to make sure the room you're in has good air circulation

"Then distance almost doesn't even matter because what you're putting into the air will just build up and begin to fill up the whole space," Dr. Milton explained.

Dr. Milton added that  face masks, distance and ventilation will be essential for keeping people safe as we work to regain some form of normalcy.

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.