Coronavirus and mask expertise

Living in the time of coronavirus means developing an expertise for face masks.

This is definitely not a topic I ever expected I would learn so much about.  Conversations with friends and family seem to revolve around different types of masks, the best ways to use them and various pros and cons associated with all of this.

The most basic of face masks is the simple surgical mask.  They are the standard for most people and I have now become accustomed to seeing almost all people wearing them on the streets.  In Hong Kong, prices for these surgical masks went up almost 10 fold at one point, with shortages creating long lines at the mere rumour of resupply.  Buying them isn't an issue anymore, but the prices still remain higher than they used to be.  Even a simple surgical masks is not truly as simple as it seems.  As people starting buying (hoarding) more and more of them, we started to learn about different makes and quality.  How many layers matters, the type of material, all of it mattered.  When you wore the masks, you could start to feel the difference in the make and quality.  Certain masks felt thinner (which was bad), whereas other masks felt like they had the sufficient thickness of material to keep out the bugs.  There was also a vinegar-like smell to the masks, which it turned out was a good thing as it meant that the necessary chemicals needed to make the masks effective were indeed being used.  At one point we thought we received the worst news when we all found out that there were "fake" masks that were being circulated and sold.  That news in turn was trumped by the actual worst news, which was that there were people who were collecting old and used masks, washing and drying them, then reselling them .... truly disgusting.

I had avoided much of the terrified panic buying when I managed to buy several boxes of masks for myself and my friends whilst I was in Thailand.  I managed to also come back with some of the much more desirable n99 masks.  These masks create a much better seal over the face and they also filter out particles and bacteria of a smaller size and more successfully.  Even that alone isn't enough, as you still need to differentiate between the "type" of n99 (or n95) mask you have.  Some will be specifically made to deal with bacteria, whereas others will be for industrial uses only.  The industrial use only masks will of course be relatively useless in protecting you.

One of the most highly sought after masks is the Korean made KF94s.  They come nicely individually packaged and you can feel that they are of a higher quality when you use them.

Not only does the fabric and material used for the KF94s feel stronger, their overall design is also much better.  The way they fold open means that they hold the chin and the nose far better than the normal surgical masks (or even the n99 masks I bought).  It feels like a better seal gets formed around the face without the same tightness of the more expensive surgical masks.  It also pushes the mask itself away from the mouth, so overall it's just far more comfortable.

On top of the masks themselves, there's also the important issue of how the mask is handled.  Get it wet and it becomes useless.  Touch it and it could become infected with whatever is on your hands.  Leave it lying around and it could get infected with what it touches.  One of my old colleagues devised an ingenious method of addressing this problem by creating a cradle for her mask out of an old tissue box for when she isn't wearing it.

The other day, I was in the elevator in my apartment complex with an old German lady, both of us masked up.  She sardonically commented to me "these masks are very tiresome".  I smiled at her through my mask and responded "yes, but it's for the public good".  She nodded her back at me and responded simply "yes, you're right".  As uncomfortable and annoying as these masks may be, there does seem to be some good to come from them in terms of stopping the spread.  The benefit they provide in protecting each individual may be questionable, but if it stops an infected individual from spreading it as much, that would already be a significant win.  To that end, it seems like Hong Kong has been able to help create level of herd protection for itself.