Why might it be time to get a better face mask?

They are also used to prevent the spread of infection from sick or asymptomatic persons . Respirators are fit around the face, designed for respiratory protection, and used mostly in healthcare settings.

In healthcare settings, they are used on sick patients as source control to reduce disease transmission through respiratory droplets, and by healthcare workers when surgical masks and respirators are unavailable. Cloth face masks are only recommended for use by healthcare workers as a last resort if supplies of surgical masks and respirators are exhausted. They are also used by the general public in household and community settings as perceived protection against both infectious diseases and particulate air pollution and to contain the wearer's exhaled virus laden droplets. As a result of the coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic, supplies of medical masks and respirators are limited globally. Medical/surgical masks and respirators are commonly used as protection against respiratory and other infections. Medical masks are used in both healthcare and community settings to protect from droplet infections and from splashes and sprays of blood and body fluids.

Reviews on the use of masks in both healthcare and non-healthcare settings to reduce transmission of other respiratory diseases mostly show a protective effect. A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions against respiratory viruses found that wearing simple masks was highly effective at reducing transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome in five case control studies (jefferson et al. 2008). A systematic review of interventions against sars-cov-2 and the coronaviruses that cause sars and middle east respiratory syndrome found that the use of face masks could result in a large reduction in the risk of infection (chu et al. 2020).

A cloth face mask is a mask made of common textiles, usually cotton, worn over the mouth and nose. Because they are less effective than n95 masks, surgical masks, or physical distancing in protecting the wearer against viruses, they are not considered to be personal protective equipment by public health agencies.

One of the most frequently mentioned, but misinterpreted, papers evaluating cloth masks as ppe for health care workers is one from macintyre et al. . Policy makers need urgent guidance on the use of masks by the general population as a tool in combating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2), calculate mask protection efficiency the respiratory virus that causes covid-19. Masks have been recommended as a potential tool to tackle the covid-19 pandemic since the initial outbreak in china , although usage during the outbreak varied by time and location . Globally, countries are grappling with translating the evidence of public mask wearing to their contexts. These policies are being developed in a complex decision-making environment, with a novel pandemic, rapid generation of new research, and exponential growth in cases and deaths in many regions. There is currently a global shortage of n95/ffp2 respirators and surgical masks for use in hospitals.

The data from this study provide some reassurance about medical masks, and are the first data to show potential clinical efficacy of medical masks. Medical masks are used to provide protection against droplet spread, splash and spray of blood and body fluids. We also recommend that infection control guidelines be updated about cloth mask use to protect the occupational health and safety of hcws. The world health organization recommends that cloth face masks should be worn in public where social distancing is not possible to help stop the spread of coronavirus. It notes that wearing a cloth face mask is just one of a range of tools that can be used to reduce the risk of transmission. The us center for disease control, along with johns hopkins university school of medicine, the mayo clinic, and cleveland clinic all concur with this recommendation. The world health organization also recommended that those aged over 60 years old or with underlying health risks require more protection and should wear medical masks in areas where there is community transmission.

We present an interdisciplinary narrative review of the literature on the role of face masks in reducing covid-19 transmission in the community. Due to a shortage of medical masks and respirators, some public health agencies have recommended the use of cloth face coverings. Ideally, a randomized controlled trial would be conducted, but in the absence of such evidence, we can evaluate the ability of masks to block particles under controlled conditions. Pandemics and emerging infections are more likely to arise in low-income or middle-income settings than in wealthy countries. In the interests of global public health, adequate attention should be paid to cloth mask use in such settings.