If your mask doesn’t have three, it doesn’t really work

As the pandemic progressed, one thing became increasingly clear: Face masks help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Scientists were also able to study the different types of masks available to gain a solid understanding of the best types to use to ensure the safety of the public – and even the person wearing the face mask. Now a new study has added to the growing evidence that your mask does not fully protect you if it does not have at least three layers of fabric. Read on for the details and for more mask advice. do not To use it, check if your face mask has one, stop using it immediately.

Researchers at Virginia Tech University tested 11 different types of face masks, including nine fabric masks made from materials such as coffee filters, a cotton t-shirt and other fabrics, and a face shield. and a surgical mask, Yahoo! The news. And there was a clear winner.

“We now recommend, based on this study, that people use a three-layer mask,” Linsey Marr, PhD, a leading aerosol scientist at Virginia Tech and co-author of the study, said at a press conference Nov. 23. Specifically, Marr recommends a mask in which “the two outer layers are a tightly woven but flexible material that allows the mask to conform to your face,” with a vacuum bagged layer or filter material in the middle. If so, your facial covering could allow filtration as high as 90%, according to the researchers.

The results confirm a study published in the journal Science Advances in September at Duke University. For this report, the researchers tested the ability of 14 different masks to block respiratory droplets, and found that aside from N95s, a three-layer surgical mask allowed the smallest number of droplets to pass through its barrier. And the third was a three-layer mask with polypropylene acting as a filter between two layers of cotton.

Read on to learn more about how your mask performed in the study, and to learn more about what other health officials have to say about PPE, check out The Only Reason Why Dr. Fauci does not approve of a national mask mandate.

Read the original article on Better life.