Do cloth masks really work? We test them in the laboratory.

FRESNO, California (KFSN) – Action News partnered with a Fresno state microbiologist in an attempt to resolve the big mask debate.

Scientists have pointed out that simple cloth masks are effective tools to slow down the coronavirus, but that has not solved the problem.

Two weeks after the California mask requirement, even one of Hollywood’s scariest masked characters is promoting facial liners.

“Behind the mask, I’m just a normal boy,” he said. Friday the 13th villain Jason Voorhees in a public service announcement designed to convince New Yorkers to wear a mask to protect themselves.

But many people are still struggling to free their faces and argue that masks don’t help.

So we decided to consult with scientists.

Fresno state microbiologist Dr. Tricia Van Laar coughed and sneezed and spoke to us in Petri dishes on Wednesday.

“So, I’m just having a normal conversation,” he said as he stood a meter away and faced an open plate.

And then she kept them in an incubator. We wait 24 hours to obtain a verdict.

When he pulled them out, we found no real surprises. The results are not all dramatic, but they are clear.

“With my mask fully on, there are no colonies that grew on the plate,” he said of the plate he sneezed into while wearing a mask.

Sneezing spreads most bacteria, but a basic mask stopped it all.

Coughing and talking also spread some bacteria, but a mask also prevented it from spreading.

Coronavirus spreads in respiratory droplets – the saliva and mucus it shares with the world when it coughs, sneezes, or talks.

Viruses will not appear in these cultures, but bacteria act as a proxy because they would help transmit the virus.

“Especially with this SARS coronavirus,” said Dr. Van Laar. “You are surrounded by this envelope which is made of almost the same things that bacterial cells are made of and what your cells are made of, so if you can get rid of bacterial cells you have a very good chance of disinfecting the virus I eat well.”

Our experiment shows that a mask helps to get rid of both.

But even government scientists have not always made this clear.

Coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci admits to some mixed messages initially.

And President Trump has refused to wear a mask in public even when he announced that the CDC recommends it.

“It is voluntary,” he said at the April 3 press conference. “You do not have to do it”.

But the situation has changed in recent days, with partisanship fading in the background and science moving forward with clear evidence.