Why you should wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Fig.1 Prof Tan (second from right) viewing the results of the experiment conducted at A*STAR

A*STAR scientists, together with SingHealth doctors from the SGH Department of Infectious Diseases and the Department of respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, designed an experiment to illustrate the importance of wearing a mask. The experiment showed that wearing a mask is effective at reducing the spread of droplets, and complements safe distancing measures. “When the subject wore a mask properly, little or no droplets were released into the atmosphere when he coughed. The experiment proves that it is important to wear a mask properly to reduce the potential spreading of the virus,” said Dr Anton Sadavoy, Scientist at A*STAR’s IMRE.

Link to article: https://www.gov.sg/article/the-science-behind-why-masks-help-prevent-covid-19-spread

Fig.2 Comparison of images captured from a high-speed and high-sensitivity camera of a subject coughing with and without a mask

Link to video showcasing an experiment on how masks prevents spread of cough droplets : https://storage.newssearch.sg/uploaded/ASTAR/Apr20/15Apr20/Online/20200412-YouTube-Video-2m58s-Why-ASTAR.mp4