Cloth vs N95: Which coronavirus mask should you wear?

Dr Khan explains how to find the best mask for you and examines the evidence on whether we should still be wiping down home deliveries and shopping.

Mask wearing has been a hotly debated topic, but most scientists agree that face coverings do help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, though the degree to which they do so depends on the quality of the masks themselves.

Because about one in three people who have COVID-19 display no symptoms at all, widespread use of masks remains important. A study which reviewed the evidence on mask wearing found in favour of widespread mask use by infected people as a way to help reduce community transmission, concluding that the available evidence suggests that near-universal adoption of any face covering at all, in combination with complementary public health measures, could successfully reduce the community spread of COVID. Models suggest that public mask wearing is most effective at reducing the spread of the virus when compliance is high.

At the start of the pandemic, there was a worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and governments advised the general public not to buy N95 or FFP2 masks so that they would remain available for front-line staff. N95 respirators, named for their ability to filter 95 percent or more of tiny 0.3-micrometre (μm) particles, are the mainstay of protection against airborne bacteria and viruses. The European equivalent FFP2 mask, which filters about 94 percent of aerosol particles, is also very effective.