Quantitative Protection Factors for Common Masks and Face Coverings

The performance of masks, whether intended to protect the community from exhaled infectious aerosol or to protect the wearer from inhaled infectious aerosol, depends on factors such as filtration efficiency, particle size distribution, leakage, and ventilation rate. These factors depend on the activities and facial features of the mask wearer so that the mask performance for real-world applications is difficult to predict. The present work shows how protection factor, a quantity often used to describe mask performance, can be estimated without involving human volunteers. By constraining these factors to known values, mask protection factors can be compared fairly and efficiently following a series of filtration efficiency measurements performed in the laboratory. Protection factors and mask emissions for exhalation and inhalation were evaluated for masks of seven types currently in use around the world and for a hypothetical mask with 99% efficiency on all particles. The performance of reusable masks made from cotton fabric was limited by the size of the native cotton fibers. Masks that utilized finer fibers, particularly electret fibers with relatively small diameters, showed excellent performance with moderate flow resistance. Results from this work, in addition to simple guidance for mask fit and usage, can facilitate risk communication and decision-making efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.