Homemade cloth masks can reduce COVID-19 spread: Study

Cloth masks particularly those with several layers of cotton cloth can reduce transmission of Covid19 by blocking up to 99 per cent of infectious particles say researchersFor the findings published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine the research team examined a century of evidence including recent data and found strong evidence showing that cloth and cloth masks can reduce contamination of air and surfacesCloth masks particularly those with several layers of cottoncloth can reduce transmission of Covid19 by blocking up to 99 per cent of infectious particles say researchersPhoto Representational Image pictwittercomBaNNnPgBLcmdash IANS Tweets ians_india May 27 2020The point is not that some particles can penetrate the mask but that some particles are stopped particularly outwardly from the wearer said study first author Catherine Clase from McMaster University in CanadaIdeally we would want a mask to work in both directions protecting the wearer from the environment and reducing the contamination of the environment air and surfaces by the wearer Clase addedThe review suggests that cloth can block particles even aerosolsized particles and this supports Canadian public health policy on the issue Whether cloth masks protect others from the wearer was studied in the 1960s and 1970s the researchers saidAccording to the study a mask made of three layers muslinflannelmuslin reduced surface contamination by 99 per cent total airborne microorganisms by 99 per cent and bacteria recovered from the smaller particles aerosols by 88 per cent to 99 per cent A commercial mask made of fourlayer cotton muslin was shown to reduce all particles by 99 per cent compared with 96 per cent to 99 per cent for contemporary disposable medical masksEven for aerosols the cloth mask was comparable with the medical masks of the day the researchers said The filtration of cloth is quite variable and single layers of the scarf sweatshirt and Tshirt may be in the 10 to 40 per cent range But multiple layers increase efficiency and modern studies have confirmed that some combinations of cloth for example cottonflannel block more than 90 per cent of particlesOur work is just one part of a complex puzzle In terms of making masks it is important to realise that more layers will give more protection both inward and outward but will make it harder to breathe Clase saidThe researchers note that more research is also needed into the best materials and design of cloth masks to help the many people who are sewing masks to protect people in their communityAnother study published last month in the journal ACS Nano revealed that a combination of cotton with natural silk or chiffon can effectively filter out aerosol particlesCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever