Professor Martin Blaser, a microbiologist at Rutgers University and the director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, has this to say about wearing masks:

On the effectiveness of masks:

“It has been known for some time that all masks are not created equal,” said Blaser. “N95s, when properly fitted, can reduce the transmission by more than 95 percent of the very tiny particles that are 0.3 micrometers in size, which carry the virus from one person to the next. That is the gold standard.”

“On surgical masks, the pore size is bigger so more particles can go through, but since they are 2-ply, the two layers work together to trap a sizeable portion of viral particles,” he explained. “Cloth masks can be 1-ply and the pore sizes are bigger. They still offer some good protection, but if the exposure is very high, there will be some actual…