In light of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, the potential of face shields as a substitution for surgical masks, as a recommendation to the general population, was investigated.

In order to determine the efficacy of the protective equipment, a study was conducted and a cough simulator was used and was carefully tuned to replicate human cough in terms of droplet size distribution and jet velocity.

An October 2020 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene found that wearing just a face shield was as effective at protecting infected particles from getting into your eyes than a surgical mask alone. Read the study here.