Double masking can protect people from COVID-19: Study

WASHINGTON: A study by University of North Carolina Health Care showed that wearing two face masks can nearly double the effectiveness of filtering out SARS-CoV-2 particles. It will prevent the novel coronavirus from reaching the wearer’s nose and mouth. The findings have been published in JAMA Internal Medicine and suggests that the reason behind this is not wearing multiple layers but eliminating any gaps or poor fitting areas of mask.

Emily Sickbert-Benett, Associate Professor, UNC School of Medicine, said that the medical procedure according to which these masks are designed is to have a very good filtration potential based on the material but problem lies in the way they fit on our faces. According to the findings, baseline Fitted Filtration Efficiency (FFE) of a mask differs from person to person as everybody has different shape of face. However, a procedure mask without changing the fit is 50-60 per cent effective at keeping the virus away. A cloth mask is about 40 per cent effective in this.

The findings also suggest that a cloth mask worn over a surgical mask increases the efficiency by almost 20 per cent and improves even more when used with tight fitted sleeve type mask. When the cloth mask is layered with procedure mask, it improves the fit by eliminating the gaps and holding the procedure mask closer to the face. It improves the efficiency by 16 per cent.