Researchers found that wearing one mask blocked around 40% of the particles, but when a cloth mask was worn on top of a surgical mask, about 80% were blocked.
3M, based in Maplewood, Minnesota, is among the largest global producers of the N95 mask, which has been approved by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and is considered the gold standard in protection against the coronavirus. The company delivered some 2 billion N95 masks in 2020 as the pandemic soared, but in earlier months of the pandemic, when masks were in short supply, fraudsters starting popped up. They re not coming from authorized distributors, said Kevin Rhodes, 3M s vice president and deputy general counsel. They re coming from companies really just coming into existence.