One of the elastic straps to keep the mask is stretchy and sits around the back of the head while the other fits around the neck (which may be better for those who wear glasses).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a surgical face mask must be used if you are continuously coughing or sneezing.

One should opt for using a surgical mask over valved respirator masks to avoid exhaling unfiltered droplets and splashes in the surrounding air.

If you are mostly outdoors and people are practising social distancing, surgical masks may be sufficient. Uniqlo's sell-out mask launched in Japan back in June, then hit the US end August – but the UK had to wait until October. All our FFP3 face mask are EN 149:2001 +A1:2009 quality standard providing an assigned protection value (APF) 20 and 50 NPF protection. However, like reusable face coverings, they do help to capture droplets exhaled by you when coughing, sneezing or talking, helping to limit the spread of viral particles. FFP3 disposable face masks are an elite piece of PPE equipment, which have the capability to filter out up to 99% of all particles in the air.The National Deaf Children’s Society in the UK has put together a list of tutorials showing you how to make your own. Colour options include the usual white, of course, but we would go for the yellow and there's also a green style that's a bit lurid IRL. Built with a double-layer construction, which includes a flat twill 100 per cent cotton exterior over a polyester/cotton interior, there is an inside filter pocket so you can insert a fresh one. With the new sub-variants of Omicron and the number of COVID cases on the rise, face masks are still here to stay – and will likely be part of our everyday existence for a good while yet.