MASKS AND RESPIRATORS FOR COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to our lives. Among the most obvious is the routine use of protective masks to prevent spreading this disease. There has been much debate about the usefulness of masks, and official guidance has flipflopped from discouraging to encouraging their use. Many are left wondering, can they help? What kind of mask do I need? Can I make my own? These are important questions right now, and they’ll remain relevant the next time a disease inevitably spreads like wildfire through the human population.
Airborne Transmission – How Masks Can help
Face masks can prevent the spread of viral illness, including COVID-19, if the right type is used and used correctly. To understand how masks help, we must first understand transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. The primary mechanism for transmission of the virus is droplets expelled from the body by coughing, sneezing, or breathing. The virus replicates in cells of an infected person, producing new copies of itself, which can then be shed in excretions such as saliva, mucus, phlegm, and rheum. Droplets of these bodily fluids can be distributed onto surfaces where they can be picked up by contact, but they can also be passed on through the air. When someone sneezes or coughs, expelled droplets can hang in the air for some time, or land directly in the nose or mouth of others. Viral particles in these droplets can then infect the recipient. The use of masks reduces this risk in two ways: Masks can contain these droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, and masks can protect the wearer from inhalation or intake of these droplets.
Categories of Masks and Respirators
Not all masks are equal. There are different types of masks sold for protection, but only some of them filter out dangerous pathogens. When searching for face masks, the results can be overwhelming. Respirators, N95, N99, PM2.5, surgical masks, dust masks — what are these things, and what are the differences?
The most common type of face mask. This type of mask isn’t tested
