The high incidence of COVID-19 cases in the world in recent weeks has two culprits: the massive social gatherings for Christmas parties and the highly contagious omicron variant. However, a third reason could be going quietly unnoticed and we are not realizing it: the use of masks.
Since its mandatory at the end of 2020, much has been said about the protection effectiveness of these surgical materials; However, with the arrival of omicron this could change since, as detailed The reason In Spain, not all masks are effective in avoiding infection with this variant of the coronavirus.
As explained by the media, an alert from the University of Colorado indicates that surgical-type masks (commonly thin and light blue) no longer work against omicrons due to their never-seen transmission speed.
As detailed in the World Health Organization (WHO), this variant is not as lethal as delta, however, it is 70 times more contagious. For this reason, experts consulted by the media advise against the use of these surgical masks or those made of cloth, which are sold commercially with specific designs.
Claire Judith Horwell, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Dangers, Risks and Resilience of the University of Durham (United Kingdom), pointed out during an interview with Canarias 7 that this way you could recognize if your surgical mask ceases to have a protective effect against COVID-19:
“If we feel that air enters our eyes or the glasses fog up quickly, the mask does not work against the virus”, he assures.
Also, another factor that shows that we are not fully protected is noticing that the breath escapes from the edges of the mask. “The air we breathe can be polluted and go through the mask”, he points out.
To complement this information, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English) point out that cloth masks and surgical masks do not offer a tight fit to the contour of the face. CO2 is released into the air through the mask when you breathe out or speak. CO2 molecules are small enough to pass easily through masks of any material.
“The respiratory droplets that carry the virus that causes COVID-19 are much larger than those of CO2, so they cannot pass as easily through masks that are well designed and used correctly”, they assured on their portal.
Experts recommend the use of FFP2 (KN95) or FFP3 masks because they better adjust to the shape of the faces, preventing the entry of polluted air into our body.
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