STUDY SHOWS MASKS 79% IN SLOWING COVID-19 SPREAD AT HOME

Wearing face masks at home can prevent pre-symptomatic transmission of the new coronavirus in households, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal and carried on May 29, 2020 by the Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) of Germany.

The findings, based on interviews with Chinese families carried out by doctors and academics in Australia, China and the US, suggest that "precautionary [non-pharmaceutical interventions], such as mask use, disinfection and social distancing in households can prevent COVID-19 transmission during the pandemic."

The authors contend that the research shows wearing masks at home to be "79-per-cent effective at curbing transmission before symptoms emerged in the first person infected." The work was led by the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control and involved the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada and the University of New South Wales' Faculty of Medicine.

Four-hundred and sixty members of 124 Beijing families that had at least one confirmed case of the virus were interviewed about domestic prevention measures used before and after the onset of symptoms in a first household member to test positive. Forty-one of the 124 families saw at least one other case of Covid-19 after a first infection. The authors warned that the practice of mask-wearing "wasn't protective once symptoms had developed." #COVID19