May 20, 2020

Medical Mask versus Cotton Mask for Preventing Respiratory Droplet Transmission in Micro Environments

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

• Ho et al. compared performance of medical masks and cotton masks in suppressing respiratory droplets from a coughing infectious person. Particles with size ranging 20-1000 nm (NC0.02-1) were measured for each participant while they were in a bedroom and a car wearing a medical mask and 100% cotton mask. There were no significant differences in NC0.02-1 between participants with medical masks and cotton masks in either environment, suggesting that cotton masks could be an effective substitute for medical masks in curbing transmission in public. 

Ho et al. (May 2020). Medical Mask versus Cotton Mask for Preventing Respiratory Droplet Transmission in Micro Environments. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139510