Study Finds Wearing Masks Has Life Saving Potential, Countries with Mask Policies Had Fewer Covid Deaths

• A new study looking into the effectiveness of wearing masks has given some insight into how masks can save lives
• The study compared countries that have made wearing masks a requirement to countries that don't have mask policies and how they fared against each other in terms of deaths
• The research revealed that countries that made wearing masks mandatory saw fewer Covid19 deaths than countries without mask policies

JOHANNESBURG - If you have had doubts about how effective wearing masks during a pandemic is, scientists have answered this question and have found that masks have life-saving potential.

A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looked at the impact of mask mandates in helping prevent Covid19 and how they contribute to Covid-19-related deaths.

The study found that countries that made wearing masks mandatory saw far fewer Covid deaths than countries without mask policies, according to a report by News24.

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The data was collected from 44 countries from Europe and Asia. They managed to obtain the Covid19 mortality data from each until the end of May 2020. The researchers chose this period for the study because all the countries had implemented restrictions in movement and gatherings.

The countries without mask mandates had a total of 1 253 757 and countries with mask policies saw a total of 913 907 Covid-19 related deaths. The data also revealed that countries that had implemented mandatory mask-wearing saw lower increases in the daily death rate.

In a press statement, lead researcher Dr Sahar Motallebi says the study gives insight to masks as an effective preventative measure. He also added that the study shows that wearing masks has life-saving potential.

Motallebi says masks protect against both mortality and morbidity while vaccines protect against mortality. However, Motallebi still recommends that getting vaccinated and mask-wearing should continue to help fight against the coronavirus.

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"So, we don't have to choose between these two good policies of vaccination and face masks or substitute one for the other when we can and must do both in parallel," said Motallebi.

NICD says Gauteng is the 1st province to achieve 4th wave peak

Briefly News previously reported that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has stated that Gauteng is the first province in South Africa to reach its peak in the fourth wave of Covid-19.

Joe Phaahla, the Minister of Health, said that South Africa has recorded more Covid-19 infections during the current fourth wave than in any of the previous three waves.

The NICD also said that the province is now reporting fewer daily infections than before, which further supports their claim that the peak has been reached, News24 reports.

Source: Briefly News