Fabric masks about as effective in preventing COVID transmission -study
Under the ideal conditions of the study, multiple use fabric masks have shown to be about as effective as surgical face masks in reducing the chance of infection.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA face mask is seen on the street in Jerusalem amid the coronavirus pandemic, on February 2, 2021.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Fabric masks are about as effective as surgical masks in preventing the transmission of the coronavirus, according to research published by Physics of Fluids journal.The research examined if cloth face coverings can prevent the passing of droplets containing the virus from an infected person to an uninfected one. They found that this can be achieved by fabric face coverings, under ideal conditions, in a comparable rate to surgical face masks.The study also suggested that due to this result, it would be possible to help reduce transmission if the materials from which such fabric masks are made was improved- an effective strategy in curbing the spread of the coronavirus -though it emphasizes that is not a replacement for other measures as well, such as social distancing.The research concludes that these reusable cloth face-masks are an environmentally friendly alternative to one-time surgical face masks.
