With the rise in COVID-19, face masks have becomes a necessary accessory. Market has been flooded with different types of masks. WHO has directed everyone to wear masks as well-fitting masks are highly effective in preventing the transmission of Covid-19.
With the debate between N95 masks and cloth masks, let us today discuss which masks are better and effective against COVID-19.
According to ACGIH’s Pandemic Response Task Force’s chart from spring 2021, N95 masks are most effective against Covid-19. They took into account how long it takes for Covid-19 to spread among people wearing different kinds of masks.
If both the infected person and the potential host are wearing N95 masks, it would take 25 hours for the virus to spread, implying that the protection offered by N95 masks is rock solid.
The analysis also explains how tightly sealed N95s (ones that allow only 1% of particles to enter) could offer 2,500 hours of protection.
The least protection, of course, is offered when people are wearing nothing. Cloth masks come in second, offering 27 minutes of protection if both the parties are donning same masks. With surgical masks, wearers can expect 1 hour of protection.
Even though these numbers predate the Omicron variant, N95 masks have proven to be most effective against transmission. Combined with basic hand hygiene and self-isolation, escaping Covid-19 is possible even now!
Omicron has shown to be more transmissible, meaning it can spread faster among people. To prevent that, tight fitting masks are key and scientists around the world are now urging people to replace their single layer cloth masks with N95 or to wear multiple layers of tight fitting masks that seal the face.