Covid-19: Do surgical masks provide good protection against Omicron variant?

KUALA LUMPUR: When Malaysia repeatedly recorded more than 10,000 Covid-19 infections daily last year, thanks to the highly infectious Delta variant, some decided it was time to drop the surgical mask and go for a respirator.

One of them, a 45-year-old mother who asked to be identified as Nana, told Bernama her reasoning was simple - she wanted better protection and convenience. Her mask of choice was the KF94, the Korean version of an N95 mask. Other masks of the same range, also known as respirators, are the KN95 from China and the FFP2, the European standard.