5 facts and the numbers behind them
why wear a mask?
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1. Wearing a face mask in public can help keep others safe.
Due to the unique and rapid spread of COVID-19, many may have contracted and spread the virus while being unaware they are infected (This is known as being asymptomatic). If everyone wears a face mask at all times when out in public the transmission of the disease will decrease exponentially.(1)
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However, the best preventive measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is quarantine, but this can not be sustained over long periods of time. A face mask can offer more protection to those around you and contribute to slowing the spread.(2)
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2. Wearing a Face mask can protect you from Aerosol Transmissions
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Through aerosol transmissions, you can be infected with COVID-19. The results from this test comes from only wearing the one form of personal protective equipment (PPE) as specified. As the chart above states, without a face mask you are at a 17.4% risk of transmitting COVID-19, but if you wear a face mask the risk goes down to 3.1%. Keeping less than 1 meter of social distance will result in a 12.8% risk, however, maintaining more than 1 meter of social distance will lower the risk to 2.6% of transmitting COVID-19. Without any eye protection/face shields the risk is 16% and with eye protection/face shields the risk is lowered to 5.5%.(3)
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Overall, wearing a face and other PPE can help reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19, but the best preventive measure is to use a combination of PPE.(4)
3. Wearing a mask can protect you from Physical Transmissions
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When using a face mask, the wearer is training themselves to be more aware of their hands. When wearing a face mask it acts as a barrier to keep the wearer from touching their face and decreasing the chance of transmission.(5)
4. Wearing a mask shouldn’t be your only preventive measure.
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To try to achieve the most protection in public places, multiple forms of PPE need to be used along with the practice of social distancing and vigorous hand washing. There is no one solution that can give you the most protection, only when using a combination of the suggested precautions, can one significantly lower the risk of transmitting COVID-19.(6)
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5. A DIY cloth mask has the potential to surpass medical masks.
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For the aerosol transmissions of COVID-19 there's a lot of debate on textile content and filters for the mask. The filtration of the COVID-19 particles is difficult due to the intensity of how small the particles are. Solutions to this problem are currently in the works, but a cloth mask can filter the larger droplets that can come from an infected person speaking.(7)
With testing and creating homemade masks for the purpose of filtering COVID-19 it has the potential to surpass medical masks such as N95 respirators and surgical masks in protecting the wearer. (8)
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Sources:
1.Helen Branswell, People ‘shed’ high levels of coronavirus, study finds but most likely not infectious after recovery begins (STAT News, 9 March 2020)
2.Hillary Brueck, The Truth about face masks and the Coronavirus: wearing masks in crowded places may help reduce the spread, but isn't a perfect solution (Business Insider, 31 March 2020)
Link:https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-face-masks-how-effective-are-they-evidence-so-far-2020-3
3.Maura Hohman, First-of-its-kind study shows face masks greatly reduce risk of COVID-19 (Today, 2 June 2020)
Link:https://www.today.com/health/do-face-masks-work-against-coronavirus-study-finds-masks-social-t183018
4.Maura Hohman, First-of-its-kind study shows face masks greatly reduce risk of COVID-19 (Today, 2 June 2020)
Link:https://www.today.com/health/do-face-masks-work-against-coronavirus-study-finds-masks-social-t183018
5.Dr. David Price, Empowering and protecting your family during the COVID-19 pandemic (video) (Weill Cornell Medical Center, 22 March 2020)
6. Joel Achenbach, CDC considering recommending general public wear face coverings in public ( The Washington Post, 30 March 2020)
7.Jessica Flores, Simply talking in confined environments could lead to coronavirus transmission, researchers say (USA Today, 14 May 2020)
8.Hillary Brueck, The Truth about face masks and the Coronavirus: wearing masks in crowded places may help reduce the spread, but isn't a perfect solution (Business Insider, 31 March 2020)
Link:https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-face-masks-how-effective-are-they-evidence-so-far-2020-3
