More and more evidence suggests that SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may be commonly transmitted before individuals show symptoms.
Professor Babak Javid, a consultant in infectious diseases at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, as well as a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said: “We know that a lot of transmission of the coronavirus occurs before people show any symptoms. Wearing masks is primarily to protect others, as well as offering some degree of protection to the wearer.”
Writing in an Editorial for The BMJ, the team argue that the potential benefits vastly outweigh the possible downsides associated with mask use. Studies performed prior to the current emergency were of variable quality, and didn’t take into account how likely individuals were to comply with wearing a mask. The authors argue that in the midst of a pandemic, people are much more likely to follow guidelines.
Image: Men in masks
Credit: Macau Photo Agency
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge