Mask Facts | 5 Nov 2023
Circulated articles state things like, “a cloth mask offers more protection than a surgical mask for people nearby.” With data gathered from participants putting a mask on for a few moments and coughing 5 times to establish said effectiveness. Upon further review, the study itself noted, “both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment.” Even though they came to that conclusion with what can easily be considered an inadequate amount of data (they’ve since retracted), what’s even more alarming is that the scientists found when test subjects coughed into the masks, even more virus particles ended up on the OUTSIDE of the mask than on the inside of the mask. It may come as a surprise, but that’s simply how viruses can travel in the real world.
