If you’re not sure whether wearing a face mask is worth it, or you need to wear a mask but are unsure which type, this new research should help you decide.

Professor Raina MacIntyre – head of the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of NSW and her team took videos of what happens when you talk, cough and sneeze in different scenarios — while not wearing a mask, wearing two different types of cloth masks, or wearing a surgical mask.

The team has published their clear results in a world leading respiratory medical journal, Thorax. A surgical mask was the most effective at blocking droplets and aerosols from talking, coughing and sneezing. But if you can’t get hold of one, a cloth mask is the next best thing, and the more layers the better.

Acknowledgment: Our thanks to Professor MacIntyre and Medical Observer magazine, 24 July 2020

Treat your face masks like underwear says Professor Bruce Thomson – don’t take them off in public

Swinburne University of Technology dean of Health Science Professor Bruce Thompson says the same rules for undies should apply — have many and/or wash often.

“Assume your mask is like underwear. So don’t take it off in the middle of public. Don’t fiddle with it in the middle of public, don’t share them with somebody else,” Dr Thompson said last week.

“The concept of actually taking your underwear off in public and putting them on a kitchen bench is horrible — but that’s effectively what you are doing.”

He recommended having 6-12 masks ready for use on rotation, just as a person would with underwear.

*Australian Doctor/6 minute news 20 July 2020