AbstractBackground: Data on the filtration efficacies of various masks against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are limited. We thus evaluate the effectiveness of the surgical mask, the N95 respirator mask, and its equivalent (KF94 mask) in filtering SARS-CoV-2.Methods: Patients hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection were instructed to cough five times each while wearing (1) no mask, (2) surgical mask, (3) KF94 mask, and (4) N95 mask. The coughs were separated by 20-second intervals, and the patients were rested for at least 5 min between each setting. SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in patient samples (i.e. nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva), petri dishes placed in front of the patients during coughing, and swabs from the outer and inner surfaces of the masks were...
Everything You Need To Know About Korean KF94 MasksSouth Korea's KF94 face mask is comparable to both the American N95 and Chinese KN95. By Monica Torres02/02/2021 05:45am EST | Updated February 2, 2021 In the fight against the coronavirus, wearing a good mask is critical for preventing the spread of COVID-19. But due to ongoing shortages, finding medical-grade N95 respirators, the gold standard of protection in the U.S., is still difficult for health care workers ― let alone laypeople.As more contagious variants of the coronavirus are spreading throughout the world, getting a high-quality mask is more important than ever. If you’re hunting for an everyday face mask that’s an upgrade from cloth, consider the KF94.What exactly is a KF94 mask?KF94...
This lingering issue has prompted both hospitals and the general public to search for viable alternatives—and two of the more popular non-N95 protective gear have been China’s KN95 masks and Korea’s KF94 masks.While the KN95s have raised concerns in recent months about their actual effectiveness, the KF94 masks have proven to match up well with the N95s.The KF94 and N95 masks do look similar and they have been shown to have the ability to filter nearly identical percentage of airborne particles—94 percent versus 95 percent.Despite the 1 percent difference in filtration level, the N95 masks are known to be somewhat easier to breathe out of, which is known as “exhalation resistance.”The KF94s, however, are required to test for “CO2 clearance,”...
