A new study from The University of Hong Kong’s department of microbiology, suggests that the coronavirus transmission rate via respiratory droplets or airborne particles dropped by as much as 75% when face masks were used.
Hamsters were put into two separate cages, with one group of hamsters infected with the virus and the other healthy.
Then, three different “scenarios” were created by researchers – mask barriers placed over the cages housing infected hamsters, masks covering healthy hamsters, and a cage with no mask barrier at all.
There was a fan between the cages allowing particles to be transmitted between the hamsters, according to the study.
With no mask barriers at all, 2/3 of the healthy hamsters — 66.7% — were infected with the virus within a week, according to researchers.
But when the mask barrier was placed over the cage with infected hamsters, the infection rate dropped to 16.7%.
When the mask barrier was used to cover the healthy hamsters’ cage, the infection rate went up to 33%, the study indicated.
Jack Kulp and Carolyn McArdle talked about it on the air. Listen below...