Total use of protective masks can lead to a reduction in the transmission of coronavirus infection to controlled values. This measure, combined with widespread “social distancing,” can prevent new pandemic waves. Such conclusions are contained in a study by British scientists from the universities of Cambridge and Greenwich.
According to the authors of the work, one-time self-isolation campaigns will not stop the new SARS-CoV-2 flashes, but even home-made masks are able to significantly reduce the transmission speed. It is important that a sufficient number of people in public places carry them.
“Our calculations confirm the need for immediate and ubiquitous use of masks in society,” Reuters quoted the words of one of the authors of the work, Richard Stutt of Cambridge.
The scientist emphasized that the widespread use of masks in combination with “social distance and some localization measures” may become an “acceptable way to combat a pandemic and resume economic activity” long before the development and availability of an effective vaccine against COVID-19.
According to the study, the average number of people to whom one infected person will transmit the disease (R number) is halved with constant wearing of masks before the onset of symptoms of the disease. “R is greater than unity” can lead to an exponential increase in cases, the paper notes.
In all the scenarios considered in the study, the constant use of a facial mask by 50% or even more reduced the spread of COVID-19 to “R less than unity”, smoothing out future waves of the disease and allowing for less stringent restrictions.
“We have little to lose from the widespread use of masks. But the benefits can be significant, ”said Renata Retkute, head of the study.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently made mandatory use of fabric masks in public places on the list of recommendations for world governments. This will help reduce the risk of coronavirus spread.
Earlier, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova said that Russians due to coronavirus will have to wear masks until mid-summer. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin allowed restrictions to remain until the invention of the vaccine.
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