'A simple surgical mask is effective in preventing new corona infections,' a German researcher announced.
Researchers at the Maxplank Institute of Chemistry in Germany said on May 20, 2021, 'Even with a simple surgical mask, the spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is sufficiently prevented in most situations of daily life. We announced the research results. This confirmed that even general masks on the market are sufficiently effective in preventing infections, unless special attention is required for infections such as medical institutions.
Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission | Science
Gesichtsmasken schützen effektiv vor COVID-19 | Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie
https://www.mpic.de/4946356/face-masks-effectively-limit-sars-cov-2-transmission
There is disagreement among experts about the effect of masks on COVID-19. Researchers of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) said that ordinary surgical masks on the market 'have only a modest effect' compared to the N95 mask, which has a very high particle collection rate. While some think, research results have also been reported showing that 'COVID-19 is effectively suppressed in areas and facilities where the proportion of people wearing masks is high.'
Can a commercially available surgical mask prevent the new coronavirus? --GIGAZINE
by nikki
Therefore, a research team led by Yafang Cheng of the Maxplank Institute of Chemistry conducted an experiment to quantify the virus concentration contained in exhaled breath-derived particles floating in the air and to simulate the relationship between the virus concentration and the effect of the mask. ..
The graph showing the simulation results is below. In the left figure assuming an 'environment with high virus concentration', the infection rates when wearing a surgical mask assuming that the particle collection rate is only 50% and when not wearing a mask are almost the same, and the infection rate in the right figure is almost the same. As you can see, both sides were infected with SARS-CoV-2. The green circles in the figure on the right represent 'exhaled particles that do not contain SARS-CoV-2', and the red circles represent 'particles that do not contain SARS-CoV-2'.
On the other hand, assuming an 'environment with a low virus concentration', the results show that whether or not the virus is infected depends on whether or not a mask is worn.
Regarding this result, Cheng said, 'Usually, only a small part of the flying particles and aerosol particles that a person exhales contains a virus. In most cases, the virus concentration in the air is very low, so Even a simple surgical mask is very effective in suppressing the spread of COVID-19. This result supports the data that pandemics are suppressed in areas where many people wear masks. '
'High-quality masks are used in indoor environments where high-risk patients may be exposed to high levels of virus, such as hospitals and medical centers,' said Christian Witt of Charité-Berlin Medical College, co-author of the paper. It is especially important to combine protective measures such as ventilation and distance measures. '
The study also found that 'many people cannot effectively control COVID-19 infection unless they wear masks properly.' Specifically, when reducing the basic reproduction number of COVID-19 from 3 to less than 1, the wearing rate must be 40% for N95 masks and 60-70% for surgical masks. From this, Witt said, 'Masks will continue to be an important defense against infection with SARS-CoV-2. Even vaccinated people may become less effective over time. Even more so. '
Related Posts:
in Science, Posted by log1l_ks