Face masks ‘cut spread of Covid’

WEARING a face covering lowers the risk of spreading Covid-19 to others through speaking and coughing, new research suggests.

Speaking and coughing without face protection exposes people nearby to droplets carrying the virus that could otherwise be stopped by wearing a mask, according to the study.

Researchers found someone standing two metres from a coughing person with no mask is exposed to 10,000 times more droplets than someone half a metre from someone coughing and wearing a covering.

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 handmade 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.

Tests were carried out on people and a life-sized anatomical human model connected to a machine that simulates coughs and speech.

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.