During this time of crisis due to the novel Coronavirus, there are many researchers questioning the effectiveness of masks. At the beginning of the year, the World Health Organisation stated that you should only wear a mask if: you are taking care of a suspect of Coronavirus, you are sneezing and coughing or you know how to throw it away properly. The WHO also states that wearing a mask is only effective if you wash and sanitise your hands frequently. Recently the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended for everyone to wear masks when leaving the house. Experts say that masks will help limit the transmission of Coronavirus from patients who do not show symptoms to other people.

 

Recently, the WHO, also known as the World Health Organisation revised their recommendations and stated that they recommend for the general public to wear face masks when going into the public. The WHO also said that surgical masks should be saved for the front liners and the public should make reusable masks from home made out of cloth.

 

The novel Coronavirus spreads through mini droplets in the air, which is generated when someone sneezes, coughs or when someone exhales.

 

Types of Masks:

There are three main types of masks. The N95 mask, the surgical mask and the homemade mask.

 

The N95 mask is a tight fit mask that can filter of 95% of the droplets. Though this mask is very effective, there isn't one general size for everyone, and you must be fit tested. If the size is too big, the masks will no longer be as effective. On top of that, every time you put on the N95 mask, you will have to perform a seal check to make sure it fits alright. (17) There are two ways where you can perform a seal check. The first way is the positive pressure check and the second way is the negative pressure check. The positive pressure check is when the person exhales while blocking any possible path of air and it is a successful test if the mask increases slightly. The negative pressure check is when the person inhales while blocking and routes of air and it is successful if the mask collapses slightly.

 

The surgical mask is a looser mask that covers your chin, nose and mouth. The surgical mask is mostly worn to prevent and protect the user from splashes and droplets and also to help limit the spread of infectious diseases through the mouth and nose. Though it helps filter out droplets with large particle droplets, the surgical mask is not very effective in blocking out the small particle droplets. Also, the surgical mask should not be worn more than once and should be disposed of properly. You can do this by placing it in a plastic bag then throwing it away.

 

The last main type of mask is the homemade mask. The CDC now recommends and advises the general public to use the homemade cloth face mask on top of social distancing. One benefit is that it can be made from homemade material and so is very easy and affordable to make. Also, the homemade cloth mask can be reused after you wash it so it would make life a lot easier than having to keep buying masks. One problem is that it may provide you with a sense of false security as though it provides some protection, it is definitely not as effective as any other mask.

 

Below are three countries – China, Singapore and America – that will be compare on the effectiveness of masks on!

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China:

Many previous reports say masks are ineffective however in China, the curve has already flattened due to the compulsory mask wearing when having to go out. This will help limit the human to human transmission from the people who are asymptomatic patients. By February 8th, 2020, Shanghai made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask in addition to temperature checks at public places like airports, malls, supermarkets and bus stations. A lot of countries around the world wonder how China has managed to contain the virus considerably well considering how big China is however it could be due to the strict rules on going out and wearing a mask. An example of this is shown when the Shanghai Police shared that they had given a 44-year-old man detention because he refused to wear a mask. 

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Singapore:

Many reports have shown that Singapore has contained the Coronavirus disease well however recently there have been a spike in cases! On 16th of February Singapore had a massive spike of 728 cases to bring the total amount of cases to pass 4000!

 

On 14th April 2020, the Singapore government announced that it was mandatory to wear a mask when leaving the house. The penalty if you were caught not wearing a mask is $300 on your first offence and $1000 on your second offense. If you are a foreigner and caught breaking this rule, you would possibly have your work pass revoked! “The minute you leave your room, or you leave your house, you have to wear a mask when you go out.” The only exception to this rule would be children below the age of 2 based on recommendations by experts. For everyone else, the only time where you would be allowed to not wear a mask is when you are doing ‘exercise’ like jogging and running.

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America:

Before the number of cases in the US increased rapidly, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) asked for the general public not to wear masks unless they were taking care of a sickly person however recently, as the number of cases have increased, the CDC now recommends the public to use cloths as a mask to increase safety measures. Even though, America is now recommending the public to use homemade face masks made from cloth, the president, Donald Trump says he cannot see himself meeting people with masks on. To the left is a graph of the difference between the countries that have implemented a rule that you have to wear masks vs the ones that have not implemented a rule yet. Is it because of masks?