Fact Check: Does Double Mask Provide Extra Protection Against COVID-19?

As the second wave of COVID-19 wreaks havoc in India, many people have started using two masks when they are stepping out of home.

Does double-masking actually provide extra protection against coronavirus?

A recent study, by University of North Carolina Health Care, does suggest so.

Research has found that that wearing two face coverings can nearly double the effectiveness of filtering out SARS-CoV-2-sized particles and prevent them from reaching the nose and mouth.

More than the extra layer of cloth, the second mask eliminates gaps or poor-fitting areas of the primary mask.

The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine, reported Hindustan Times.

“The medical procedure masks are designed to have very good filtration potential based on their material, but the way they fit our faces isn’t perfect,” said lead author of the study Emily Sickbert-Bennett, a PhD and associate professor of infectious diseases at the UNC School of Medicine.

test the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of a range of masks,

UNC researchers tested the fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of a range of masks by filling a 10 foot by 10 foot stainless steel exposure chamber with small salt particle aerosols and had researchers wearing a combination of masks to check how effective they were at keeping particles out of their breathing space.

Each individual mask or layered mask combination — fitted with a metal sample port — was attached to tube in the exposure chamber to measured concentration of particles entering breathing space underneath the researcher’s mask. There was a second tube as well, to measure concentration of particles in the chamber.

The research found fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of a mask differed from person to person. But generally, a procedure mask without altering the fit is about 40-60 per cent effective at keeping COVID-19-sized particles out, whereas a cloth mask is about 40 per cent effective.

Doubling of face masks showed that when a cloth mask is placed over a surgical mask, the FFE improved by about 20 per cent. It was even better with a snug-fitting, sleeve-type mask, such as a gaiter.

When a procedure mask is worn over a cloth mask, FFE improved by 16 per cent.

Also Read: Can Two Masks Help Reduce COVID-19 Infection Spread? Know What Experts Have To Say