Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission | Zendy

Yafang Cheng | Zendy; Nan Ma | Zendy; Christian Witt | Zendy; Steffen Rapp | Zendy; Philipp S. Wild | Zendy; Meinrat O. Andreae | Zendy; Ulrich Pöschl | Zendy; Hang Su | Zendy

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Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Author(s) -

Yafang Cheng,

Nan Ma,

Christian Witt,

Steffen Rapp,

Philipp S. Wild,

Meinrat O. Andreae,

Ulrich Pöschl,

Hang Su

Publication year - 2021

Publication title -

science

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 12.556

H-Index - 1186

eISSN - 1095-9203

pISSN - 0036-8075

DOI - 10.1126/science.abg6296

Subject(s) - face masks , covid-19 , masking (illustration) , transmission (telecommunications) , airborne transmission , pandemic , medicine , social distance , limit (mathematics) , coronavirus , virology , computer science , medical emergency , outbreak , mathematics , telecommunications , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , art , mathematical analysis , visual arts

Airborne transmission by droplets and aerosols is important for the spread of viruses. Face masks are a well-established preventive measure, but their effectiveness for mitigating SARS-CoV-2 transmission is still under debate. We show that variations in mask efficacy can be explained by different regimes of virus abundance and related to population-average infection probability and reproduction number. For SARS-CoV-2, the viral load of infectious individuals can vary by orders of magnitude. We find that most environments and contacts are under conditions of low virus abundance (virus-limited) where surgical masks are effective at preventing virus spread. More advanced masks and other protective equipment are required in potentially virus-rich indoor environments including medical centers and hospitals. Masks are particularly effective in combination with other preventive measures like ventilation and distancing.

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