Mumbai's BMC Advises People To Wear Double Masks, Why It's Actually Effective

Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Corporation has been very active in sharing different ways citizens of Mumbai can keep themselves safe.

Recently it shared a post where it recommended people to wear two masks instead of just one to not let SARS CoV-2 into our body. This was being conveyed through a rather clever Ven diagram (although the pun was very much like a dad joke).

'Venn' in doubt, double up!#DoubleMaskUp #NaToCorona #DoubleMasking #WeShallOvercome pic.twitter.com/FxYMSakNpn

¡ª ???? Mumbai, ???? BMC (@mybmc) April 28, 2021

Also Read: Mask Up: US States That Wore Face Masks Had Lower COVID-19 Rates Compared To Those That Didn't

While in India, people barely manage to keep one mask on, expecting them to put on two feels like we¡¯re asking too much from them. But does wearing two masks help? According to science, it surely does.

How is wearing two masks helpful?

A study published in the popular journal JAMA Internal medicine has discovered that double masking allows for a better filtration that prevents SARS CoV-2 from entering the body.

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For the study, the team filled a 10 feet by 10 feet stainless steel chamber with small salt particle aerosols. Here scientists tested a combination of masks to gauge their efficacy in keeping the particles out.

A special probe was attached to the masks that measured the concentration of particles that entered the masks¡¯ breathing space underneath the coverings. The wearer was also asked to do different kinds of motions to simulate what an average person would do on a day to day basis.

Two masks offered the best fitted filtration efficiency

Researchers found that wearing a medical mask underneath the cloth masks offered the best FFE or fitted filtration efficiency. According to the researchers, the reason this works is not because of the additional layers, but instead, this eliminates gaps and even areas of poor fitting of masks.

Researchers also saw that enhancements made to improve the seal between the mask and the facial skin considerably improved the filtration of the face masks.

AP

Also Read: Some Face Masks Have Toxic Chemicals That Can Harm Us, Scientists Find

Emily Sickbert-Bennett, lead author of the study explains, ¡°With the current data supporting how effective mask-wearing is at preventing the spread of Covid-19, the best kind of double-masking is when you and the person you are interacting with are each correctly wearing a very snug-fitting mask.¡±

It is important to note that only one type of medical procedure mask was used and only three volunteers participated in the study.