You have probably already noticed that Americans do not wear one but two masks to further limit the transmission of Covid-19. But is it really effective?
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris… Across the Atlantic, wearing the "double mask" seems to be the norm. According to a scientific study conducted by the University of Virginia, and published in November in the medical journal Cell, wearing two masks would strengthen protection and limit the risk of contamination. "For maximum protection, the public may wear a fabric mask over a surgical mask. The surgical mask acts as a filter and the fabric mask provides an additional layer of filtration, while improving the fit “, Explain the researchers.
Wearing two masks would filter up to 90% of particles
Asked by the US site health.com, Dr. Scott Segal, one of the study's authors, stated that "wearing two masks is a good idea when the filtering power of the masks is not very important ".But beware, the scientist insists that the mask should not block your breathing. "No mask works if you can't wear it comfortably, and doubling masks if you can't breathe through will make you want to take them off to breathe, negating the filtering effect», He explains.
AFNOR's warning
If the French Association for Standardization (AFNOR) indeed ensures that "wearing two face masks layer upon layer can improve filtration if the fabrics are different”, She nevertheless calls for the greatest caution regarding this practice. "This will certainly pose a problem of breathability, making it difficult to support the mask during a sustained discussion, a more or less fast walk for example.She continues.
In addition, it is possible that wearing the double mask is much less comfortable and that you will therefore have to retouch it several times. "By wearing such an assembly, the person is exposed to the risk of having to remove it, out of discomfort, without being able to wash their hands, or to put on a new one, thus exposing themselves to a risk of contamination. .", Concludes AFNOR.
Conclusion: wearing two masks seems to be effective in limiting the transmission of Covid-19, but it is not necessarily the most comfortable technique that exists today!
4 tips to better support the mask
<! –
->