A person with a skin disease is to tear their clothes and let their hair hang loose. That is, they must go about with an unadorned head. The word for tear
is rare, and is used only in this passage and in Leviticus 10:6 and Leviticus 21:10. In addition to this, they are to cover their mouth and cry out “unclean,” as a warning to others of their condition. In this verse the verb “to cover” does not mean to shut one's mouth; rather, it means “to shield his lips” with his hand.
45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’