If you are deciding what type of mask to wear when going out then N95 and cloth masks may be the best choice to protect yourself from the spread of COVID-19.
On July 10, WPTV and Florida Atlantic University’s biology department conducted an experiment to determine the effectiveness of three different popular face coverings against the COVID-19 virus.
The experiment involved,three people coughing five times onto separate Petri dishes while wearing three different masks. The masks beings tested included an N95 mask, a cloth mask, and a face gaiter. The last part of the experiment included each person holding the Petri dish close to their face and coughing without a mask.
The masks sat in an incubator over the weekend, and any bacteria that grew on the Petri dishes were seen the following monday.
According to WPTV, the results found that:
- Bacteria was found on all the Petri dishes that were coughed on without masks
- No bacteria was found on the dishes for the N95 and cloth masks
- Only one of the dishes for the face gaiter had bacteria on it
Dr. Nwadiuta Esiobu, a professor of biological sciences at FAU who led the experiment stated “There is no need for politics. Take politics out of this. Wearing the mask helps. That is what the results show and that is what the science shows.”
Dr. Esiobu recommends that If you wear a face gaiter, to fold down the cloth and doubling the material to make those types of masks more effective.