Although research on the effectiveness of different types of face masks or coverings against the coronavirus is varied, experts and politicians tend to agree that some protection is better than none.
Face coverings in the UK were made compulsory in public transport starting in June, and then later in shops and indoor areas in July.
These are the results of studies that have been done so far to determine if masks actually work.
FACE MASKS: LOWER VIRUS RATE (JANUARY 20,21)
Boston University researchers discovered that face masks are an effective method to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
The study, published in the journal Lancet Digital Health, found a 10 per cent rise in self-reported mask wearing is associated with a three-fold increase in the odds of keeping the R number – the number of others each person with coronavirus infects – below 1.
Ben Rader from Boston Children’s Hospital (Boston University), was co-author. He stated: “An important result of this study is that mask wearing does not replace physical distancing.”
DECEMBER 2020: INFECTIOUS ROPLETS WILL STILL SLIP THRU (DECEMBER 2020).
Researchers at New Mexico State University, the US discovered that a cloth mask might not completely protect the wearer from the coronavirus. However, it could significantly decrease the number of infected drops.
According to Dr Krishna Kota who was an associate professor at the university and led the research, “Wearing a face mask can provide substantial protection, but not complete protection for a vulnerable person.”
According to the study, all of the masks were effective in blocking at least 95% of cough and sneeze droplets. However, there is still risk that this disease could be passed.
DECEMBER 2020: A MASK “WILL ALWAYS be better than nothing”
Research by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and California Baptist University in the US found wearing a used three-layer surgical mask can reduce the number of small droplets that are released into the air by two thirds.
Jinxiang Xi was the co-author.
Our results indicate that fine particles of less than 2.5 micrometers are not affected by this belief.
MASK-WEARERS SEEK EQUALLY TO CATCH VIRUS (NOVEMBER 2020).
Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark concluded that masks can only provide limited protection against Covid infection.
Researchers concluded that the difference in number of individuals who contracted the virus from a mask-wearing group compared with a non-mask-wearing group was statistically insignificant.
The study was carried out in April and May when Danish authorities did not recommend wearing face coverings.
MASK CAN HELP THOUSANDS FEWER DROPLETS (AUGUST 2020).
Edinburgh University, Scotland suggests that cloth masks can reduce the spread of drops from coughing and sneezing.
According to the findings, a person who coughs without wearing a mask for two meters is more likely to be exposed than someone half a metre further away with a simple single-layer mask.
Paul Digard of University of Edinburgh’s Roslin institute stated: “The simple message that our research has given us is that face-masks do work.
“Face coverings will help reduce the risk that someone infected by the virus unknowingly will spread it to them,”
N95 MEDICAL MASKS COULD PREVENT 91% OF SPREAD (AUGUST 2020).
A study by Duke University in North Carolina, US, found N95 masks are the most effective masks at reducing the spread of Covid-19.
The research published in the journal Science Advances, studied 14 types of face coverings.
Eric Westman was co-author. He stated that “if everybody wore masks, we could stop as many droplets as possible before they get to someone else.”
“In the absence a vaccine or an antiviral drug, it’s the best way to protect yourself as well as others.
SURGICAL COVERINGS ARE JUST AS GOOD (MARCH 2020)
According to a University of Oxford study, surgical face masks prevent the spread of respiratory infections.
The N95 respirators have thick, tightly-woven, moulded materials that fit tightly on the face. They can block 95 percent of airborne particles. Surgical masks, however, are more flexible, more porous, and less comfortable.
The Oxford analysis of past studies – which has not yet been peer reviewed – found that surgical masks were worth wearing but any face mask is only as good as other health and hygiene practices.