Wearing a face mask reduces spread of coronavirus through coughing and speaking, new study reveals

Wearing a face covering lowers the risk of spreading coronavirus (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.

“Wearing a face mask can really make a difference”

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 a coughing person with a mask on.

Scientists at the university compared the number of droplets that landed on a surface, after coughing and speaking, in front of a person without and with a surgical mask or a basic cotton face covering .

Tests were carried out on people and on 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.

Masks extremely effective in reducing spread to immediate surroundings

They add that the findings, published on a non-peer reviewed pre-print server, 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, their results contrast with previous research that suggested masks are less effective. However, these studies also measured small droplets – known as aerosols – which can remain airborne for hours.

How much virus transmission takes place by aerosol is still not known, but the team cautions that if it’s found to be significant, the new findings overestimate the protective effects of face coverings.

However, for bigger droplets carrying the largest amount of virus, masks are extremely effective in reducing spread to the immediate surroundings, researchers say.

“A relatively new field”

Dame Ottoline Leyser, chief executive, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said:

The Covid-19 pandemic is a crisis that has impacted virtually everybody. In these extraordinary circumstances we have seen the value of rapid and collaborative research in supporting our response to the crisis.

The findings published today from a study led by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and co-funded by UKRI support the growing body of evidence that face coverings reduce Covid-19 transmission via respiratory droplets.

Research into Covid-19 is obviously a relatively new field, with the science still evolving. New information about the virus plays a crucial role in informing policy makers and the public.

The study was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the European Commission and Japan Student Services Organisation.