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A new risk assessment model developed by researchers shows: Wearing oral-nasal protection or FFP2 mask massively reduces the risk of infection from respiratory illnesses like Covid-19.
Infection risk reduced by 83
This is the result of a study by an international team of researchers with Austrian participation, who developed a new theoretical model to estimate the risk of virus spread. As they report in the Royal Society journal Interface, face masks provide excellent protection.
Risk of infection with different types of exhalation and environmental conditions
Current recommendations and knowledge about infectious disease transmission are often based on a simplified model developed by U.S. researcher William Firth Wells in 1934, the scientists write in a release. The research team led by Francesco Picano of the University of Padua (Italy), which also included Alessio Roccon and Alfredo Soldati of the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer at the Vienna University of Technology (TU), therefore developed a new model to estimate the risk of infection associated with different types of exhalation (talking, coughing, sneezing) under other environmental conditions. Several factors were considered, including the distance between people, temperature, humidity, and viral load.
Meter-wide spread of viruses in people without mouthguards/masks
The study showed that a person speaking without a mouthguard could spread droplets – and thus, viruses – a meter away if infected. When that person coughs, droplets can fly up to three meters, and when they sneeze, as much as seven meters. However, with a face mask, the risk of infection decreases significantly.
FFP2 mask and surgical mask massively reduce the risk of infection
“If you wear a surgical mask (mouth-nose protection, note) or an FFP2 mask, the risk of infection is reduced to such an extent that it is practically negligible – even if you are standing only one meter away from an infected person,” explained study coauthor Gaetano Sardina of the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. Worn correctly, masks would provide excellent protection and significantly reduce the risk of infection.
- sources: vienna.at/APA/picture: pixabay.com
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