The researchers have developed a new theoretical model for estimating the risk of virus spread. As they report in the Royal Society’s journal “Interface”, face masks offer excellent protection.
The current recommendations and knowledge about the transmission of infectious diseases are often based on a very simplified model by the US researcher William Firth Wells from 1934, the scientists write in a press release. The research team led by Francesco Picano from the University of Padua (Italy), which also included Alessio Roccon and Alfredo Soldieri from the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer at the Technical University (TU) Vienna, has therefore developed a new model to assess the risk of infection in connection with different species of exhalation (speaking, coughing, sneezing) under different environmental conditions. A number of factors were taken into account, such as the distance between people, temperature, humidity and viral load.
When you sneeze, droplets fly up to seven meters away
In the study, the scientists showed that a person speaking without a face mask can spread droplets – and thus, viruses, if infected – one meter away. When that person coughs, the droplets can fly up to ten feet, and when they sneeze, even seven feet. With a face mask, however, the risk of infection decreases significantly.
“If you wear a surgical mask (mouth and nose protection, NB) or an FFP2 mask, the risk of infection is reduced to the point that it is practically negligible – even if you are only a meter away from an infected person,” explained study co-author Gaetano Sardina from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg (Sweden). Masks, if worn correctly, would offer excellent protection and significantly reduce the risk of infection.
Source: Nachrichten
