IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i20p13511-d946650.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of Wearing FFP2 Masks on SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rates in Classrooms

Author

Listed:
  • Gerald Jarnig

    (Institute of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Reinhold Kerbl

    (Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKH Hochsteiermark, 8700 Leoben, Austria
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Mireille N. M. van Poppel

    (Institute of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria)

Abstract

In this retrospective cohort study involving 614 secondary school students, the likelihood of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 in schools with different focus (sports focus vs. general branch; the only difference in the sports focus school was that PE was allowed at all times without restrictions) and different prevailing restrictions were compared. A significantly higher likelihood of infection with SARS-CoV-2 was found in sports classes during the period with a strict FFP-2 mask requirement compared to general branch classes (for Delta from November 2021 to December 2021, and for Omicron from January 2022 to February 2022). The higher likelihood of infection was observed both during the Delta and the Omicron wave. After the relaxation of the mitigation measures, however, students in general branch classes showed a clear “catch-up” of infections, leading to a higher incidence of infections during this phase. By the end of the observation period (30 April 2022), only a small difference in cumulative SARS-CoV-2 infection rates ( p = 0.037, φ = 0.09) was detected between classes with a sports focus and those without a sports focus. The results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 transmission can be reduced in school classes by mandatory FFP-2 mask use. In many cases, however, infection appears to be postponed rather than avoided.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerald Jarnig & Reinhold Kerbl & Mireille N. M. van Poppel, 2022. "Effects of Wearing FFP2 Masks on SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rates in Classrooms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13511-:d:946650
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13511/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13511/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keely Shaw & Scotty Butcher & Jongbum Ko & Gordon A. Zello & Philip D. Chilibeck, 2020. "Wearing of Cloth or Disposable Surgical Face Masks has no Effect on Vigorous Exercise Performance in Healthy Individuals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-9, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Keely A. Shaw & Scotty Butcher & Jong Bum Ko & Abdi Absher & Julianne Gordon & Cody Tkachuk & Gordon A. Zello & Philip D. Chilibeck, 2021. "Wearing a Surgical Face Mask Has Minimal Effect on Performance and Physiological Measures during High-Intensity Exercise in Youth Ice-Hockey Players: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-12, October.
    2. Alessia Tescione & Francesco Misiti & Simone Digennaro, 2022. "Practicing Outdoor Physical Activity: Is It Really a Good Choice? Short- and Long-Term Health Effects of Exercising in a Polluted Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Ryan T. Conners & Paul N. Whitehead & Thomas Skarp & Briana Waller & Mark Richard & Carrington Bain & Megan Monks & Mark A. Faghy, 2022. "Acute Effects of Facial Coverings on Anaerobic Exercise Performance in College-Aged Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Francesco Tessarolo & Giandomenico Nollo & Devid Maniglio & Marta Rigoni & Luca Benedetti & Fabrizia Helfer & Ivan Corradi & Luigi Rovati & Alberto Ferrari & Mattia Piccini & Luca Accorsi & Elena Vero, 2021. "Testing Surgical Face Masks in an Emergency Context: The Experience of Italian Laboratories during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Robyn Braun-Trocchio & Jessica Renteria & Elizabeth Warfield & Kaitlyn Harrison & Ashlynn Williams, 2022. "The Effects of Face Coverings on Perceived Exertion and Attention Allocation during a Stepping Task," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-9, June.
    6. Luciano Bubbico & Giuseppe Mastrangelo & Francesca Larese-Filon & Paolo Basso & Roberto Rigoli & Martina Maurelli & Salvatore Ferlito & Marco Capelli & Claudio Gisabella & Mohammad Javanbakht & Saveri, 2021. "Community Use of Face Masks against the Spread of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-13, March.
    7. Lai-Yin Qin, 2023. "A Comparison of the Effect of Facemasks on Perceived Breathability and Air Quality during Daily Activities and Indoor Exercises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-10, February.
    8. Jennifer L. Scheid & Corinne Edwards & Michael Seils & Sarah L. West, 2022. "Perceived Exertion during Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity While Mask Wearing: A Quantitative and Qualitative Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, May.
    9. Antonio Scarano & Francesco Inchingolo & Biagio Rapone & Felice Festa & Sergio Rexhep Tari & Felice Lorusso, 2021. "Protective Face Masks: Effect on the Oxygenation and Heart Rate Status of Oral Surgeons during Surgery," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-10, February.
    10. Juntaek Hong & Juahn Byun & Joong-on Choi & Dain Shim & Dong-wook Rha, 2022. "The Effects of Wearing Facemasks during Vigorous Exercise in the Aspect of Cardiopulmonary Response, In-Mask Environment, and Subject Discomfort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-10, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; masks; school; children; transmission; infection; FFP2;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13511-:d:946650. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.