Experts say that wearing double layers of face masks could help boost your protection against the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
In an article published on AARP, a US-based interest group focusing on issues affecting those over age of fifty, Linsey Marr, an expert in virus transmission and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, describes a mask as an ‘obstacle course’ for particles.
By adding one more layer of mask, Marr said, there’s another obstacle course that “increases the chance that the particle will be trapped before it gets through to the other side.”
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Marr recommends the use of disposable, nonwoven masks underneath a tightly fitted cloth mask, which she said should block about 90 percent of infectious particles.
Do all masks provide the same level of protection?
The U.S. Center for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) recommends against masks that do not fit properly (too loose, or with large gaps); made from loosely woven fabric, such as fabrics that let light pass through; masks with one layer; masks with exhalation valves or vents; scarves or ski masks worn as a mask; and masks made from materials that are hard to breath through (such as plastic or leather).
Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease doctor and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said people should also consider older adults and vulnerable people with underlying conditions when thinking of the importance of wearing masks.
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In other countries, they have also recommended even thicker masks.
In Hong Kong, they have distributed six-layer masks to all of its citizens. Austria sent high-grade medical masks to residents over the age of 65 and Germany recently began mandating medical-grade masks in shops and on public transit.
Meanwhile, a doctor in the Philippines has shared a varied opinion.
In a report by GMA’s 24 Oras, Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious disease specialist, said double masking is not necessary in the Philippines for now.
Solante explained that apart from wearing face masks, the Philippine government has also required the wearing of face shields which is already “an added barrier”. (ES)
