Study: Masks DO stop virus spreading
WEARING a face covering significantly lowers the risk of spreading Covid-1 to others through speaking and coughing.
Researchers say even the simplest of coverings does ‘really make a difference’ to the risk of catching coronavirus.
Failing to wear a mask exposes people nearby to droplets carrying the virus that could otherwise be stopped by the face protection, a Scots study indicates.
The academics found someone standing two metres from a coughing person not wearing a mask is exposed to 10,000 times more droplets than someone half a metre from someone coughing and wearing a covering. The study was carried out to measure the impact of the policy that makes face coverings compulsory on public transport and in shops.
Lead researcher Dr Ignazio Maria Viola, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, said: ‘We knew face masks of various materials are effective to a different extent in filtering small droplets.
‘However, when we looked specifically at those larger droplets that are thought to be the most dangerous, we discovered that even the simplest single-layer cotton mask is tremendously effective.
‘Therefore wearing a face mask can really make a difference.’
Scientists at the university compared the number of droplets that landed on a surface in front of a person coughing and speaking without and with a surgical mask or a basic cotton face covering.
Analysis found that the number of droplets was more than 1,000 times lower when wearing even a single-layer cotton mask, the researchers say. They add that the findings could have implications for social distancing measures.
Professor Paul Digard, of the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, said: ‘The simple message from our research is that face masks work.
‘Wearing a face covering will reduce the probability that someone unknowingly infected with the virus will pass it on.’
According to the scientists the results of their study contrast with previous research that suggested face masks are less effective.