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Nearly six million people have died in more than two years of pandemic, which has affected more than 590 million people worldwide. Ever since it had hit the world, hospitals globally have often buckled under pressure of handling large volumes of cases, and the World Health Organization has repeatedly highlighted how simple measures can help bring down the spread of the virus, including putting up masks and vaccination.

Now, a study has highlighted how the shortage of N-95 respirators - which are deemed to effectively filter the airborne particles - can be addressed using rubber bands. The study - that shows that rubber bands can help fix the surgical mask seal - has been published in the peer-reviewed journal of the United States-based Public Library of Science.

"Rubber bands, a low-cost and easily-accessible modification, can improve the seal and protective ability of a standard surgical mask to the level of an N95 respirator," the researchers concluded in the study. "This could mitigate N95 respirator shortages worldwide and provide individuals in under-resourced regions a practical means for increased personal respiratory protection," it further adds. The surgical masks are not believed to be as protective as they do not fit around the wearer’s face. This lets the airborne particles bypass the mask.

“The creation of a seal around a standard surgical mask is hypothesized to protect the wearer and others against particle exposure by isolating air exchange via mask filtration,” it says.

The journal has also published photographs of demonstrations, using eight inch rubber bands. “Of the 40 health care workers included in the final analysis, 31 of the participants wearing modified surgical masks scored 100 or greater on the Final PortaCount Fit Factor, a PortaCount-generated composite score based on four standard subscores of bending, talking, head side to side, head up and down. This surpassed the reported standard passing criteria of N95 respirators,” the researchers underlined.

The study was conducted among 40 health care workers in 2021 and it was recently published in the journal.

While N-95 respirators are preferred, the US Food and Drug Administration recomends those who have chronic respiratory, cardiac, or other medical conditions to consult an expert before using these masks; it may make it more difficult for the wearer to breathe.

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