Repeated coughing seriously degrades face mask efficiency | Infosurhoy

Face masks are thought to slow the spread of viruses, including the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but little is known about how well they work.

In an issue of Physics of Fluids, Talib Dbouk and Dimitris Drikakis, from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, use precise computer models to map out the expected flow patterns of small droplets released when a mask-wearing person coughs repeatedly.

Previous work from this research group showed droplets of saliva can travel 18 feet in five seconds when an unmasked person coughs. This new work used an extended model to consider the effect of face masks and multiple cycles of coughing.