Wearing a mask is 'the most effective way' of curbing spread of Covid, study claims as data shows a QUARTER of under-30s have given up on coverings

  • First-of-its-kind international study finds wearing masks in public cuts Covid transmission rates by 53%
  • Researchers found following social distancing and handwashing also cut public's chance of catching virus
  • Study comes as Office of National Statistics data shows only 29% of under 30s in UK wore a mask last week
  • The data shows mask adherence rises with age, with 96% of the over 70s, donning one when they went out

Mask wearing is the single best public health measure to stop the spread of Covid other than vaccination, a study has found — despite scientists still being split over their effectiveness at a population level. 

A review of six real-world studies on coverings, involving nearly 400,000 total participants, by Monash University researchers in Australia and the University of Edinburgh, concluded that widespread use can cut Covid rates by up to 53 per cent.

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But the academics admit that there is significant variation in the studies depending on the methodology used and also identified the risk of bias in the results. 

There has been fierce scientific debate about how well masks work at reducing transmission, despite nearly every country in the world mandating or encouraging their use. 

Lab tests and observational studies have shown masks can block infected people from exhaling up to 80 per cent of the virus into the air and also protect wearers from inhaling up to 50 per cent of the particles.     

But real-world studies, which involve more scientific rigour, have produced mixed results, with some showing they have a huge impact on infection rates and others showing virtually none.

Any protection offered can also depend on the type of mask worn, with medical-grade coverings much better than cloth or surgical masks, as well as if someone wears them correctly. 

It comes as data suggests three in 10 under-30s across the UK have abandoned mask-wearing in public, despite the coverings being a legal requirement in Scotland and Wales.  

An international team of researchers have found mask wearing cut Covid transmission by 53 per cent and social distancing reduced the spread by 25 per cent. They also found handwashing was effective, cutting Covid transmission by 53 per cent however they added the limited number of studies they were able to analyse meant this statistic was not significant

In the new study, published in the BMJ, researchers examined a total of 35 studies, the majority from Asia. One was a randomised controlled trial and others were observational.  

Of the research trials, 26 assessed measures such as social distancing and lockdowns and 12 analysed personal protective measures like mask wearing.

After examining all the data for each social and personal protective measure the researchers then determined if they could calculate an overall figure in risk reduction

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The researchers also found handwashing and social distancing helped curb the spread of virus between members of the public. 

Handwashing, similar to masks, was found to reduce Covid transmission by 53 per cent, but the authors said this finding was not statistically significant due to the low number of studies examining the measure.

Social distancing was found to reduce Covid cases by 25 per cent.

They added the use of interventions like masks, social distancing and handwashing would help protect the public if a Covid variant emerged that was different enough to not be impacted by the vaccines. 

The researchers did not explore the impact of combing such measures.  

Other public health measures, such as full or partial lockdowns or working from home, were not possible to assess due to the variation in the studies examining these initiatives. 

Academics argued while vaccines were safe, effective, and saved lives, they did not offer 100 per cent protection, making it critical that people do what they could to reduce transmission rates. 

Vaccines have been proven to massively reduce a person's chance of catching Covid, but this protection drops to 40 per cent for the AstraZeneca and 60 per cent for the Pfizer and Moderna after six months. 

The findings come as fresh data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 29 per cent of Britons under-30-years-of-age didn't wear a mask when they went outside their home in the last week. 

Compulsory mask wearing in the UK depends on which nation you live in, with England having abandoned the practise in July
Mask wearing in England is still required in healthcare settings as Boris Johnson recently fell afoul of during a visit to Hexham General Hospital in Northumberland . His brief failure to wear a mask was a source of controversy last week

Masks in healthcare settings, who should and shouldn't wear one 

While mask wearing was phased out as a legal requirement in most places on July 19 people still need to wear them in health settings like hospitals and care homes.

This is to help protect vulnerable people like the elderly or those undergoing cancer treatment, as well as staff who interact with them from a possible Covid infection. 

There are exemptions however, with the following groups some of those not required to wear masks:

  • Children under the age of 11
  • If the person has physical or mental illness or impairment that prevents them from doing so
  • If you need to communicate, or are providing assistance to, a person who relies on lip reading 

Outside of health settings official Government guidance is that the public should wear masks in crowded and enclosed spaces where you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet, such as public transport.

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The ONS gathered data on mask usage which shows adherence to wearing masks rises as people get older.

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In comparison, only 18 per cent of 30-and-49-years-olds didn't wear a mask outside, falling to 10 per cent in the over 50s and 4 per cent in the over 70s. 

In total 85 per cent of adults reported wearing a mask during the last week, this compares to 97 per cent who reported doing the same at the same time last year. 

When you need to wear a mask in the UK is currently dependent both of what you are doing and where in the country you live. 

In England compulsory mask wearing was ditched in July as part of the so-called 'Freedom Day' removal of pandemic restrictions though people are still required to use them in health and care settings. 

Masks are also still recommended to be used in spaces where social distancing is impossible.

In Scotland. Wales and Northern Ireland masks are legally required on public transport and in most indoor venues, with the notable exception of pubs and restaurants. 

Exceptions to compulsory mask wearing apply in all countries for people such as young children and for people whose physical and mental disabilities mean they cannot wear a mask easily or safely. 

The evidence of using masks to stop the spread of Covid has fluctuated over the course of the pandemic.

Some individual studies, like the new research by the international team, have come out in favour of masks like one from the ONS in September, which found people who did not wear them were up to twice as more likely to catch the virus.

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Other studies have found the protection offered differs widely based on what kind of mask is used, with one study finding commonly used blue surgical masks only offered 10 per cent more protection than going bare-face.  

WHAT HAVE STUDIES SHOWN ABOUT FACE MASKS AND COVID?

Research on how well various types of masks and face coverings protect against coronavirus has varied but experts and politicians have generally leaned towards the idea that the chance of some protection is better than none.

In the UK, face coverings were first made mandatory in for public transport in June and later for shops and other indoor spaces in July. 

Here's what studies have shown so far about whether masks work: 

FACE MASKS LOWER VIRUS R RATE (JANUARY 2021)

Researchers at Boston University in the US found wearing face masks is an effective way to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

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.

Co-author of the study Ben Rader, of Boston Children's Hospital and Boston University, said: 'An important finding of this research is that mask wearing is not a replacement for physical distancing.' 

INFECTIOUS DROPLETS WILL STILL SLIP THROUGH (DECEMBER 2020)

Scientists at New Mexico State University in the US found wearing a cloth mask may not shield the user totally from coronavirus because infected droplets can slip through, but it would significantly reduce how many.

'Wearing a mask will offer substantial, but not complete, protection to a susceptible person,' said Dr Krishna Kota, an associate professor at the university who led the research.

The study found while all masks blocked at least 95 per cent of droplets from coughs and sneezes - there was still a risk of the disease being passed on.

A MASK 'WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN NOTHING' (DECEMBER 2020)

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.

Co-author Dr Jinxiang Xi said: 'It is natural to think that wearing a mask, no matter new or old, should always be better than nothing.

'Our results show that this belief is only true for particles larger than five micrometers, but not for fine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers.' 

MASK-WEARERS EQUALLY LIKELY TO CATCH VIRUS (NOVEMBER 2020)

A study by Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark suggested face masks may only offer the wearer limited protection against Covid infection.

Researchers found there was no statistically significant difference in the number of people who contacted the virus in a group wearing masks in public compared to a group that did not do so.

The study was carried out in April and May when Danish authorities did not recommend wearing face coverings. 

MASK LEADS TO THOUSANDS FEWER COUGH DROPLETS (AUGUST 2020)

Research by Edinburgh University in Scotland suggested cloth face masks are effective at reducing the amount of droplets spread by coughing or sneezing.

The findings suggest a person standing two metres from someone coughing without a mask is exposed to 10,000 times more droplets than from someone standing half a metre away wearing a basic single layer mask. 

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.'

N95 MEDICAL MASKS COULD PREVENT 99% 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.

Co-author Dr Eric Westman said: 'If everyone wore a mask, we could stop up to 99 percent of these droplets before they reach someone else.

'In the absence of a vaccine or antiviral medicine, it's the one proven way to protect others as well as yourself.' 

SURGICAL COVERINGS JUST AS GOOD AS N95 MASKS (MARCH 2020)

A University of Oxford study published on March 30 last year concluded that surgical face masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 respirators for doctors, nurses and other health care workers. 

N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and moulded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous.

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.

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