Scientists have identified that wearing face masks is the “most effective way” to curb the spread of COVID-19 breakthrough cases and new infections. In a study about pandemic precautions, such as hand washing and social distancing, they found that face masks reduce the cases by 53%.
Two people are social distancing and wearing face masks. (PHOTO: Paubox)
Rising Cases of COVID-19
Lockdowns are over, but COVID-19 remains rampant as thousands of new infections are recorded each day. Express.co.uk reported that over 44,000 people in the UK tested positive for COVID on November 19 or a total of 281,000 in the last seven days.
The government’s effort of vaccinating its citizens is ongoing to reduce the strain on the public health sector by reducing hospitalizations and severe cases. But coronavirus remains highly contagious and is unlikely to be ever eradicated, like the flu.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that there are over 254 million people that have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. Meanwhile, China has claimed 5.1 million deaths since 2019, making it the deadliest disease of this century.
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Mask-Wearing Most Effective Tool Against New Cases of COVID-19
The new study focused on examining pandemic precautions, particularly handwashing, mask-wearing, ad physical distancing, which are all effective in protecting people against respiratory infections.
According to Fox9, researchers compiled 72 studies carried out in the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America, and Australia, wherein 35 evaluated individual public health measures.
They found that these 35 studies indicated a 53% reduction in new COVID-19 cases from wearing face masks. More so, about 46% reduction in COVID-19 deaths was recorded in countries where face masks were mandatory, and a 29% reduction in COVID-19 cases in states where it is also compulsory.
But the research lacks the data on the impact of the type of face mask worn and the frequency of mask-wearing or compliance of wearing them.
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