Absolutely not !
By wearing a face mask we intend to minimize the spread of COVID virus from an infected person to a healthy person through the space between them. The level of protection achieved through a mask depends on how effectively the mask filters and how well the mask fits on your face.
You may wear a face shield along with a face mask in places where it is difficult to maintain physical distancing and it will prevent the fall of droplets from another person directly onto your face.Additionally, the use of a face shield along with a face mask may be recommended to prevent falling of droplets and other contaminants onto your face mask. This is a recommended practice for healthcare workers as they have to deal with coughing patients where there is a higher risk of contaminating their face masks with patients’ droplets.
However, it is never recommended to use a face shield as a substitute for a face mask as it does not provide the desired protection.
Another important point which needs to be emphasized is that wearing a face mask is only one of the protective measures that we can use to reduce the spread of infection and it is important to keep in mind that wearing a face mask alone does not provide complete protection against COVID 19.
Therefore, to keep the spread of COVID 19 at bay we need to adhere to other protective measures such as maintaining physical distance, avoiding crowds, and keeping your hands clean along with wearing a face mask.