KUALA LUMPUR – Double-masking or wearing a cloth mask on top of a medical-grade mask helps filter more particles than wearing only a single-cloth mask, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He shared this information through infographics on his Twitter account of a US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, which concluded that double-masking can substantially reduce the wearer’s exposure to Covid-19.
Double masking (with a cloth mask on top of a medical grade mask) helps filter more particles than a single cloth mask alone. Although it’s not mandatory together with the face shield, it gives maximum protection. pic.twitter.com/gqXLNvXSr3
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) May 27, 2021
“Although it’s not mandatory together with the face shield, it gives maximum protection,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
According to another infographic he shared, an unknotted surgical mask blocks 56.1% of particles, a cloth mask (51.4%), a knot and tucked surgical mask (77%) and double-masking (85.4%).
The infographic encourages users to always pair a surgical and a cloth mask for double-masking, and avoid wearing a similar type of mask for double-masking.
Another infographic showed that no doubling up is required for the N95 mask as it is the gold standard and can seal the face, filtering 95% of particles.
Yesterday, daily Covid-19 cases recorded in the country continued to reach another peak with 7,857 cases reported in the past 24 hours and 59 deaths, taking the death toll to 2,491. – Bernama, May 28, 2021
