From Scotland's Leading Newspaper: Why Wearing Face Masks Should be Considered a National Duty

Aug 17, 2020     Good afternoon,

A new study by scientists at the University of Edinburgh has found face coverings can block out 99.9 per cent of potentially lethal droplets expelled when an infected person coughs or talks.

The findings show that exposure to virus-laden particles is 10,000 times greater when standing two metres away from a person who coughs with their face uncovered than from someone half a metre away who is wearing a mask.

Lead researcher Dr Ignazio Maria Viola, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, said: “We knew face masks of various materials are effective to a different extent in filtering small droplets.

“However, when we looked specifically at those larger droplets that are thought to be the most dangerous we discovered that even the simplest handmade single-layer cotton mask is tremendously effective.

“Therefore wearing a face mask can really make a difference.”