Face Masks in a Pandemic: Are They Masking More Than We Think?

In 2020, the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the human race. The world's leading medical experts have suggested wearing face masks is one of the many precautions people can take to slow the virus's spread. As a college student and member of a relatively small community, the dispute over the proof, or the lack thereof, that masks are working is frequently at weigh. Thus, a question came to me: Are face masks hiding more than our faces? My research aims to determine if a face mask's daily wear without disinfectant measures is a medium for growing microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. The study presented will be done by growing cultures from samples taken from three different types of facemasks under different conditions: control group, one day use, and consecutive daily use. First, the control group is established by collecting a sample from never worn medical-grade masks, cloth masks made of 100% cotton, and anti-microbial gaiter masks. The next condition requires a new face mask of each type subjected to a consecutive seven-hour wear time, followed by a collection sample from each for microbial growth. The third condition requires a never used face mask for each of the ascribed types subjected to a consecutive five-day wear with each day containing a consecutive seven-hour wear time. At the end of the fifth day, swabbed samples are collected from each type of mask. The extraction of samples for the bacterial growing process will be taken promptly at the end of the completed mask wear time. Lastly, the cultures will be grown in Petri dishes in a lab. From the results, conclusions will be determined.