Facial masks help reduce the spread of Sars-cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. But recent studies have shown even more surprising reports that even if someone wears a mask and gets infected, the disease is usually easier. Joseph Courtney and Ad Bax, researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, show that the masks reduce the lifespan of infectious particles entering the nose and mouth. A vital factor that predicts the severity of the disease is how far the viral particles reach a person’s lungs. Cotton face masks fight to block smaller aerosols, which are more likely to penetrate deeply. This is another reason why scientists continue to call for wearing protective masks, an instruction that will most likely be advised for many months to come. Worldwide, more than 1 year since the pandemic was declared, 118 million people have been infected. Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 2.62 million infected./LF-dritare.net
