Study findings provided by Australian government concluded that cloth face masks made of optimal material (high grade cotton and multi-layer) are effective in reducing source virus transmission and is comparable to surgical mask.
Surgical mask is often single use and dispose immediately. This lead to increase in plastic particle waste pollution in the environment. Moreover, face masks litter in both terrestrial and aquatic environment is alarming as well.
Image credit to OceansAsia and Dr Oluwatovin Fadare
On the other hand, fabric face mask promotes re-usability for daily usage and is likely to reduce spread of Covid-19. Hence, it is strongly encourage that fabric face mask is used for community setting and leave the supply of surgical face mask for Covid-19 front liners.