Mask-wearing and Physical Distancing Most Effective in Curbing COVID

The results showed a 53% reduction in the incidence of Covid with mask wearing and a 25% reduction with physical distancing.

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A recent study in The British Medical Journal(BMJ) has found for the first time that mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing are all effective measures at curbing cases – with mask wearing the most effective.

This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence covid-19. Public health efforts to implement public health measures should consider community health and sociocultural needs, and future research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of public health measures in the context of covid-19 vaccination.

They said the results highlight the need to continue mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing alongside vaccine programmes.

Researchers at Monash University and the University of Edinburgh say multi-faceted measures, such as lockdowns and closures of borders, schools and workplaces need further analysis to assess their potential negative effects on populations.

Public health or non-pharmaceutical interventions are known to be beneficial in fighting respiratory infections like flu, and countries around the world have tried using them to curb the spread of Covid.

Globally, Covid cases exceeded 250 million this month. The virus is still infecting 50 million people worldwide every 90 days due to the highly transmissible Delta variant, with thousands dying each day.

Vaccines are safe and effective and saving lives around the world. But most do not confer 100% protection, most countries have not vaccinated everyone, and it is not yet known if jabs will prevent future transmission of emerging coronavirus variants.

Results from more than 30 studies from around the world were analysed in detail, showing a statistically significant 53% reduction in the incidence of Covid with mask wearing and a 25% reduction with physical distancing.

Handwashing also indicated a substantial 53% reduction in Covid incidence, although this was not statistically significant after adjusting for the small number of handwashing studies included.

Detailed analysis was not possible for other measures, including quarantine and isolation, universal lockdowns, and closures of borders, schools, and workplaces, due to differences in study design, outcome measures and quality, the researchers said.

Mask wearing was adopted by many countries at the start of the pandemic, but nearly two years later many have now dropped some or all their original requirements.

The Dutch government this month decided to re-impose the mandatory wearing of face masks in an effort to slow the latest spike in infections.

Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister came under fire this month from the World Health Organization’s special envoy for Covid after being photographed without a face covering during a hospital visit.

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