Careful in Choosing Cloth Face Masks

Everyone who goes out for outdoor activities are required to wear nonmedical grade face masks. But people are urged to be careful in choosing cloth masks.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Two women in kebaya (Javanese blouse) wear face masks on Thursday (16/4/2020) in Merapisari hamlet of Ngablak district in Magelang regency, Central Java.

Everyone who goes out for outdoor activities are required to wear nonmedical grade face masks. Despite the lack of special standards for cloth masks, the type of fabric and number of layers affect the masks’ protectiveness. People are urged to be careful in choosing cloth masks.

On 5 April 2020, government spokesperson for COVID-19 issues Achmad Yurianto said everyone would be required to wear masks whenever outside. This is in line with recommendations issued in the same week from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Previously, the government, the CDC and the WHO called for those who were healthy not to wear masks when outdoors. Physical distancing and washing your hands were deemed as enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

With such a tiny size, it is in fact difficult for cloth to trap the virus.

However, as asymptomatic COVID-19 cases rise, the instruction was changed. Using masks is deemed effective to prevent asymptomatic people from spreading the disease when they talk, cough or sneeze.

The novel coronavirus is tiny, with a diameter of 0.1 micrometer. With such a tiny size, it is in fact difficult for cloth to trap the virus. This means that the virus can go through cloth easily.

However, the virus is transmissible through droplets of water or mucus that you spew when talking, coughing or sneezing. A cloth masks is capable to catch such droplets and is effective in reducing the number of microorganisms that you spew when you cough.

Also read : Behind the Hand Sanitizer and Face Mask Price Hike During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Cloth masks’ popularity is rising in line with surgical masks’ scarcity. Therefore, nonmedical-grade cloth masks are suggested for healthy people doing activities outdoors that do not expose them to COVID-19. Meanwhile, surgical and N95 masks are reserved for medical workers and sick people.

KOMPAS/AMBROSIUS HARTO

A woman sews a strap for a cloth mask at the Jahitin.com workshop in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Public reaction

Without the need for government appeal, people have been searching for cloth masks for self-protection. This can be seen in public search trend at popular search engine Google. Google Trends shows that searches with the key phrase “cloth mask” have increased since 2 March 2020.

In the past five years, the number of searches about cloth masks in Indonesia was negligible and not included in Google Trends’ calculation. Searches with the key phrase “cloth mask” had scored only 0-4 (in a scale of 0 to 100) in Google Trends in the past five years.

However, on 2 March 2020, searches of cloth masks began to increase with a score of 13. As COVID-19 began to spread in Indonesia, searches for cloth masks also increased.

Also read : Physical and Mental Health During COVID-19

The searches peaked on 6 March 2020 with a score of 100 (in a scale of 0 to 100). This coincided with the government call for the people to use cloth masks to protect themselves and those around them.

Google Trends is a toll that can provide assessments for certain moments and Google users’ reactions on those moments. The higher a topic’s popularity rating is, the more searches there are on the topic compared to all other topics in a certain time and location. The popularity rating is represented in scores between 0 and 100.

Data from Google Trends also show that people are beginning to create their own cloth masks. Searches on cloth masks are dominated by questions on how to make them. This topic is also linked to people’s curiosity on materials and patterns for face masks.

Also read : Like Atomic Bomb, Covid-19 Vaccine Will End ‘War’

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Mashita (28), a resident of Pandanlandung Village, Wagir District, Malang Regency, East Java, Friday (10/4/2020), sewing a mask. Residents in the village get many orders for masks in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Variety of cloth masks

Other than how to make cloth masks, people also search for cloth masks’ prices and sales. Nowadays, cloth masks are easy to find in offline and online shops. Their producers vary, including home-based businesses, retail stores and big textile companies.

Karin Melinda, who owns the home-based cloth mask business KantongBaju.id, said that she had been flooded with orders since COVID-19 began to spread in Indonesia. She can sell up to 5,000 cloth masks at Rp 5,000 (US 33 cents) per mask in a month.

The 100-percent cotton masks are two-ply. Karin’s orders come from Greater Jakarta, Bali, Palembang, Yogyakarta, Pemalang, Malang, Pontianak and Makassar.

Textile company PT Sri Rejeki Isman also produces cloth masks to fulfill domestic demand. The Sritex brand masks are also two-ply and can be ordered through the Halodoc telemedicine application. Purchases are limited at two packs of 10 masks. The price is Rp 55,000 per pack.

Nowadays, cloth masks are easy to find in offline and online shops.

Searches on online shopping platforms found many types of cloth masks made from various materials, including cotton, oxford, woolpeach, cotton shirt, spandex and scuba. There are also cloth masks with interlining fabric and foam.

These cloth masks have either elastic or non-elastic ear hooks. They can be plain, illustrated, have batik motifs or embroidered. They also come in many forms, from the simplistic rectangular shape to those looking similar to surgical masks with creases and a nose wire.

Sellers commonly promote antibacterial, antiviral and dust-resistant cloth masks. These cloth masks are washable and can be worn multiple times. Furthermore, cloth masks comprise not only one layer but two or three layers or cloths. Some of these masks also have space for tissue for additional filter.

Sellers are becoming more aware of these things as people are becoming increasingly careful when choosing masks. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, people have not been careless in buying masks. Instead, they have been carefully assessing the masks’ effectiveness in protecting them from microorganisms.

Also read : Analyzing the Global Spread of Covid-19

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

A woman wearing a mask when doing activities at BSD City Modern Market, Serpong, South Tangerang, Saturday (4/4/2020). The Covid-19 pandemic made residents wear masks in their daily activities in an effort to prevent Covid-19 transmission.

Effectiveness

Among the elements that determine masks’ protectiveness is their mateirals. Cotton, commonly used in cloth masks sold in online shops, are adequate in filtering microorganism.

Cotton mixed with polyester have a microorganism filtration rate of 70.24 percent. Meanwhile, 100-percent cotton shirts have a microorganism filtration rate of only 50.85 percent.

Other parameters to be considered in choosing cloth masks is breathability. In this case, masks from 100-percent cotton shirts are more breathable than masks from mixed cotton.

Materials’ effectiveness are based on testing of filtration rate of Bacteriophage MS2 bacteria with a diameter of 23 nanometer. Masks tested are two-ply cloth masks.

Surgical masks are the most effective due to its adequate filtration rate and breathability. However, among home-made cloth masks, pillow cases and 100-percent cotton masks are the best materials using these two parameters.

Another important point of consideration in making or buying face masks is the number of layers. A study by Yang Wang of the Missouri University of Science and Technology cited that the more layers used, the better the microorganism filtration rate is.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Health workers gather on Sunday (19/4/2020) outside Grand Cempaka Business Hotel in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, to board a Transjakarta bus that will shuttle them to several city-owned hospitals in the capital.

For instance, pillow cases (of the 600-thread-count variety) can only filter 22 percent of particles with two plies. However, with four plies, the filtration rate increases to almost 60 percent.

Masks’ protectiveness is an important consideration point in buying or making cloth masks. Even if you cannot test the masks’ protectiveness scientifically, here is a simple test you can do.

Spread the mask out under a bright light. If light can go through, the mask is not good to use. On the contrary, if light cannot go through, the mask is in good condition.

Using cloth masks is suggested for those doing activities outside. However, this is not the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 spread. Staying at home, adhering to physical distancing rules, washing your hands and paying attention to physical health remain the best way to cut the spread of COVID-19.

(KOMPAS R&D)