According to a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, surgical masks were found to be as effective as N95 masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19 among healthcare providers at hospitals. In the study, researchers at McMaster University in Canada tracked 1,009 healthcare workers at 29 sites in Canada, Egypt, Israel, and Pakistan.

The author of the study noted that there were conflicting recommendations on the use of N95 masks during the pandemic. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended N95s for routine care of patients with COVID-19, while the World Health Organization (WHO) and Canadian Public Health Agency recommended either surgical masks or N95 respirators. However, several low- and middle-income countries are still struggling to procure N95 masks due to their high cost.

Hence, they designed this study to compare the effectiveness of both masks against viral respiratory infection or clinical respiratory illness. The study is a systematic review of four randomized controlled trials on masks conducted between 1990 and March 2020. The findings of the study showed that the use of surgical masks did not increase viral respiratory infections or clinical respiratory illness. 

(Source: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1024802 )