Small Controlled Study Shows Surgical, Cotton Masks Ineffective in Preventing COVID-19 Spread
Surgical and cotton masks were both ineffective in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), from the coughs of infected patients, according to data from a brief research report published today in Annals of Internal Medicine.
In the study conducted by researchers from two hospitals in South Korea, four patients infected with COVID-19 were instructed to cough five times onto a petri dish while wearing no mask, while wearing a surgical mask, while wearing a cotton mask and then again while wearing no mask.
The researchers swabbed the outer and inner surfaces of the surgical mask and the outer and inner surfaces of the cotton mask and found SARS-CoV-2 on all surfaces, suggesting that wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 may not be effective.