Table of Contents:
I. World Health Organization (WHO)
- Advice on using masks in the context of COVID-19
- Information on both medical and non medical masks
- Regulatory Information
- Design and Testing
- Article: Still Confused About Masks? Here's the Science Behind How Face Masks Prevent Coronavirus [UCSF]
- Article: Considerations for Wearing Cloth Face Coverings [CDC]
- Article: COVID-19: How much protection do face masks offer? [Mayo Clinic]
- How to make cloth face coverings
- Do's and Don'ts of wearing a Mask
- This is a soft, flexible and adjustable “frame” that significantly improves the outer seal of a mask.
- This technical guide on mask filtration testing provides general information, design and testing criteria, and regulatory requirements.
- Filtration vs Breathability
- Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech
- MakerMask Webpage
WHO created detailed guidance on the use of face masks in light of COVID-19. The document also includes information on what design features should be present in masks, as well as who should be using what type of mask and when.
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These technical guides on medical and non-medical face masks provide general information, design and testing criteria, and regulatory requirements.
Medical Face Masks |
Non-Medical Face Masks |
Article: Still Confused About Masks? Here’s the Science Behind How Face Masks Prevent Coronavirus [UCSF]
- This article explains why the WHO and CDC both recommend the wearing of cloth face masks when you are in public. Laboratory studies have shown that water droplets that can carry the virus from a sneeze or cough are inhibited when a mask is worn. Real-world scenarios have backed this up, studies comparing the rate of infection before and after masks were mandated in 15 states and the District of Columbia showed a slow in daily growth. Internationally it has also been found that counties that had already implemented a common practice of mask wearing before the pandemic had lower death rates from COVID-19 cases.
Article: Considerations for Wearing Cloth Face Coverings [CDC]
- The wearing masks has been shown to reduce transmission of the virus in public places. Masks work by stopping water droplets from an infected person from reaching healthy individuals. It is unknown, however, how effective cloth masks are at preventing a healthy person from breathing in the virus so social distancing is not yet determined.
- There are a few groups that are not encouraged to wear masks including children younger than two years old, anyone that is struggling to breath, and any unconscious person who is unable to remove their own cloth face covering.
Article: COVID-19: How much protection do face masks offer? [Mayo Clinic]
- Not all masks are created equal, this article explains some of the distinctions between cloth face coverings, surgical masks and N95 respirators. Surgical masks are made to prevent droplet and other contaminants from coming in contact with the wearers nose and mouth. At this time the U.S Food and Drug administration has not approved the use of surgical masks for protection against COVID-19. Surgical masks do provide some protection when an n95 respirator is not available and are preferred to no face covering. n95 respirators are one of many kinds of respirators and are preferred over cloth coverings and surgical masks because they can stop both large and small particles from passing through. One important characteristic to note is that these masks have one way valves which filter air coming in, but not air coming out which has lead some places to ban them.
Centers for Disease Control MasksLink: How to Make Cloth Face Coverings
This article has both sew and no sew options for making cloth face coverings. |
World Health Organization
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Description
This is a soft, flexible and adjustable “frame” that significantly improves the outer seal of a mask. Recommendation When worn over a 3-layer disposable mask, the Badger Seal was shown to provide a 4x to 8x improvement over a 4-layer knit cotton cloth mask Equipment Needed
Materials Needed
Warning: While the fitter seems to improve the seal of a face mask, it has not been tested for effectiveness in preventing illness, and you should use it at your own risk. See legal disclaimer and testing information here: https://making.engr.wisc.edu/mask-fitter/ |
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This technical guide on mask filtration testing provides general information, design and testing criteria, and regulatory requirements.
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Filtration vs Breathability
We have evaluated and compared the relative breathability and filtration efficiency of several mask materials compared to N95s and surgical masks. Refer to the graphs below for our findings.
Article: Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech
Around the world, face masks are being used to prevent person to person transmission of COVID-19. With a surge in demand for face masks more designs and manufacturures are entering the mask market. This trend has resulted in less information being available about the effectiveness of each mask design. In this Science Advances article a laser beam and photography were used to determine the number of water particles that escaped while a person spoke into 14 diffrent masks that differ in both design and materials used.
Citation:
Westman, E., Grass, D., Warren, W., Henrion, I., Fischer, E., & Fischer, M. (2020). Video data from: Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech. Research Data Repository, Duke University. doi:10.7924/r4kp81n9j
Westman, E., Grass, D., Warren, W., Henrion, I., Fischer, E., & Fischer, M. (2020). Video data from: Low-cost measurement of facemask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech. Research Data Repository, Duke University. doi:10.7924/r4kp81n9j
Resource for face mask testing: MakerMask
MakerMask is a research and science-based orginization whos goal is to provide relavent information regarding materials, designs, and use of face masks. Follow the above link to view their website.
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