Table 4. Pearson’s correlation coefficient between bacterial and fungal counts in air samples and load of microbial contamination on used masks (inside and outside areas).

Load of microbial contamination on used masks	Bacterial counts in air samples (cfu/m3)	Fungal counts in air samples (cfu/m3)
Bacterial contamination on used masks
inside area outside area	r=0.014, p=0.834 r=0.161, p=0.018*	r=0.006, p=0.933 r=0.206, p=0.003*
Fungal contamination on used masks
inside area outside area	r=0.044, p=0.520 r=0.092, p=0.180	r=0.074, p=0.283 r=0.017, p=0.810

* Statistically significant correlation at α = 0.05