The stretchy cloth mask, with holes for eyes, nose and mouth, emerges from the packet all slippery, but fits on to the contours of the face with ease.

One such event occurs on his fifth birthday when he refused to wear the cloth mask to the dinner table.

One study found that cloth masks might actually be worse than no masks, potentially because they could retain moisture and not filter particles properly.

Studies show that, especially in the case of cloth masks, inhaled air often tends to flow around the sides.

The pollution alert has been triggered by particles so small that they can pass through paper or cloth masks, meaning these are probably a waste of time.