Relative assessment of cloth mask protection against ballistic droplets: A frugal approach.

ABSTRACT: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the relevance of evaluating the effectiveness of face masks-especially those made at home using a variety of materials-has become obvious. However, quantifying mask protection often requires sophisticated equipment. Using a frugal stain technique, here we quantify the "ballistic" droplets reaching a receptor from a jet-emitting source which mimics a coughing, sneezing or talking human-in real life, such droplets may host active SARS-CoV-2 virus able to replicate in the nasopharynx. We demonstrate that materials often used in home-made face masks block most of the droplets. Mimicking situations eventually found in daily life, we also show quantitatively that less liquid carried by ballistic droplets reaches a receptor when a blocking material is deployed near t

SUBMITTER: Marquez-Alvarez V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9531801 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature