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  Wearing is Caring
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choose the right mask for YOU

Surgical masks and cloth masks are for members of the general public. They're more comfortable than N95 masks, though less protective. N95 masks are ONLY for healthcare workers. They are more protective, but extremely uncomfortable to wear.

Reference:

Davies, Anna, Katy-Anne Thompson, Karthika Giri, George Kafatos, Jimmy Walker, and Allan Bennett. “Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks: Would They Protect in an Influenza Pandemic?” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 7, no. 4 (May 22, 2013): 413–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2013.43.

Experimental Design

This experiment had two parts, but only one was relevant to this graphic. Check out the first half of the experiment here.

Following instructions given by the researchers, 21 volunteers made their own face masks out of 100% cotton T-shirts. Next, they put on the cloth masks and coughed into a sealed box that contained a few petri dishes for sampling large droplets. The researchers measured the amount of bacteria and viruses in the air and on the petri dishes.

The steps were repeated two more times, but with the volunteers wearing surgical masks and no masks.

Results

Wearing a mask PROTECTS:
  • When the volunteers didn’t wear masks, the sampling box caught around 200 microorganisms. This includes anything like viruses and bacteria
  • When the volunteers wore cloth masks, the sampling box caught 43 microorganisms.
  • With surgical masks, the sampling box caught 30 microorganisms.

What does this mean?

The average cloth mask is slightly less protective than a surgical mask. But each mask also has some additional pros and cons that you should consider. When paired with social distancing and good hygiene, either is good!
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These guidelines are our interpretation of scientific literature and published guidelines. Please follow links to learn more about the science behind our infographics.
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