4 The CDC released a statement supporting the efficacy of masks in reducing the spread of the virus from infected individuals with and without external symptoms. 3 During this pandemic, numerous countries deemed the use of cloth masks in public mandatory or highly encouraged to minimize the ability of sneezes and other droplet-emitting actions to spread the virus. 2 A sneeze can generate as many as 40,000 droplets, which can evaporate to particles in the 0.5 µm to 12 µm range. Respiratory droplets are droplet particles with a diameter between 5 µm and 10 µm, and contact routes include direct contact of mucosal surfaces with infected people or fomites. 1 COVID-19 is transported primarily through respiratory droplets and contact routes. Keywords: COVID-19, facial mask, filtration, personal protective equipment, multi-modal data, health informatics, respiratory droplets IntroductionĬoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), also known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly infectious virus that has changed the modern global landscape with over 15 million confirmed cases and 633,000 deaths as of this paper submission and growing. This discovery supports the idea of low-cost enhancements to reduce transmission and protect individuals from contracting COVID-19. Experimental results demonstrate that the filtration efficacy of cloth masks with either a light or heavy starch can approach the performance of much costlier masks. This work tests low-cost enhancements to homemade masks to assist these communities in making better masks to reduce viral transmission. COVID-19 disproportionately affects people in low-income communities, who often lack the resources to acquire appropriate personal protective equipment and tend to lack the flexibility to shelter in place due to their public-facing occupations. The experiments utilize an inhalation system and aerosol chamber to simulate a masked individual respiring aerosolized air. In this work, we compare the following masks in keeping out particulate matter below 2.5 microns in decreasing order of their efficacy: N95 respirators, cloth masks with activated carbon air filters, cloth masks with HVAC air filters, surgical masks, heavily-starched cloth masks, lightly-starched cloth masks, and regular cloth masks.
A plethora of facial coverings and respirators, both commercial and homemade, pervade the market, but the true filtration capabilities of many homemade measures against the virus are unclear and continue to be unexplored. The use of face masks is recommended worldwide to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
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