GOOD CLOTH MASK IS MADE OF COTTON THREE LAYERS

The Covid-19 health protocol requires people to carry out activities outside the home to wear a mask or cover their mouth and nose. This aims to prevent transmission of the Corona virus. 

However, it turns out that the scuba and buff masks that are often used by the public are not effective at preventing the transmission of the virus from Wuhan. 

Spokesperson for the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said that a good cloth mask is a mask made of cotton and 3 layers. This is because masks made from 3 layers of cloth have better filtering ability or virus particles, compared to scuba or buff masks.

"Why is that important because the ability to filter the virus particles will be better with a higher number of layers, in this case three layers made of cotton," Wiku said at Tuesday (9/15/2020).

Wiku said, scuba or buff masks made of thin materials could not filter virus particles.Therefore the government does not recommend the use of scuba masks or buffs in public places during a pandemic. 

Wiku asked the public to use a good and quality mask to protect the nose, mouth and chin area from transmission of the Corona virus.

Furthermore, as reported by Science Alert, scientists at Duke University conducted an experiment comparing 14 different types of masks and face masks on their effectiveness in preventing the transmission of Covid-19.

The results showed that N95 masks blocked most of the respiratory droplets released by the speaker, followed by surgical masks, then masks made with polypropylene.

However, in terms of blocking droplets, buff ingredients and scuba masks were the worst of the masks tested. The thin layer and the quality of the material can actually be dangerous.

So instead of wearing a scuba or buff mask, you should choose a surgical mask or several layers of cloth masks.

WHO itself recommends that cloth masks have three layers, namely an absorbent inner layer, a filtering middle layer, and an outer layer made of non-absorbent materials such as polyester.

A University of Illinois study found that three layers of silk cloth or 100% cotton T-shirts may be just as protective as a medical grade mask. Silk in particular has electrostatic properties that can help trap smaller virus particles.* (nto/ist: gustucovid19).