Mask or no mask for COVID-19: A public health and market study

Abstract

Efficient strategies to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are peremptory to relieve the negatively impacted public health and global economy, with the full scope yet to unfold. In the absence of highly effective drugs, vaccines, and abundant medical resources, many measures are used to manage the infection rate and avoid exhausting limited hospital resources. Wearing masks is among the non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) measures that could be effectively implemented at a minimum cost and without dramatically disrupting social practices. The mask-wearing guidelines vary significantly across countries. Regardless of the debates in the medical community and the global mask production shortage, more countries and regions are moving forward with recommendations or mandates to wear masks in public. Our study combines mathematical modeling and existing scientific evidence to evaluate the potential impact of the utilization of normal medical masks in public to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider three key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of wearing a quality mask in reducing the transmission risk, including the mask aerosol reduction rate, mask population coverage, and mask availability. We first simulate the impact of these three factors on the virus reproduction number and infection attack rate in a general population. Using the intervened viral transmission route by wearing a mask, we further model the impact of mask-wearing on the epidemic curve with increasing mask awareness and availability. Our study indicates that wearing a face mask can be effectively combined with social distancing to flatten the epidemic curve. Wearing a mask presents a rational way to implement as an NPI to combat COVID-19. We recognize our study provides a projection based only on currently available data and estimates potential probabilities. As such, our model warrants further validation studies.

COVID-19 and Quality of Life: Twelve Reflections

“…For example, Toebes ( 2020 ) pointed out there was tension between individual rights and public health and whether government measures would compromise human rights and personal privacy. Regarding the proposal to wear masks, scientific findings show the preventive role of wearing facial masks (Li et al 2020 ), and wearing masks can be regarded as a sign of altruism which can promote social solidarity (Cheng et al 2020 ). However, some people do not follow the policy of wearing facial masks because they believe this is an infringement of the individual right.…”

Measurement of filtration efficiencies of healthcare and consumer materials using modified respirator fit tester setup

“…Other work has made inroads on mask fit and fluid resistance, but there is still substantial need for quantitative FE data to inform DIY mask construction [17][18][19]. The recent resurgence of universal mask usage globally has renewed interest in quantitative measurements and comparisons of materials for their design [20,21].…”

Aerosol Release by Healthy People during Speaking: Possible Contribution to the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

“…Capturing droplets by face-masks sufficiently retaining droplets and aerosols is highly effective and therefore a key measure of prevention of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 [32][33][34][35].…”