‘Masks, distancing don’t give full protection’

Study is the first time researchers have systematically examined the optimum use of these protective measures
A health worker inside a mobile test unit in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo | EPS/Shekhar Yadav)
A health worker inside a mobile test unit in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo | EPS/Shekhar Yadav)

NEW DELHI: Keeping at least one-metre distance from other people as well as wearing face coverings and eye protection, in and outside of health-care settings, could be the best way to reduce the chance of viral infection or Covid-19 transmission, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis synthesising all the available evidence from the scientific literature, published in The Lancet.

However, none of these interventions, even when properly used and combined, give complete protection from infection, and the researchers said that some of the findings, particularly surrounding face masks and eye protection, are supported by low-certainty evidence, with no completed randomised trials addressing Covid for these interventions.

The study, conducted to inform WHO guidance documents, is the first time researchers have systematically examined the optimum use of these protective measures in both community and healthcare settings for Covid-19.

The authors say it has immediate and important implications for curtailing the current Covid-19 pandemic and future waves by informing disease models, and standardising the definition of who has been ‘potentially exposed’ (or come within 2 metres) for contact tracing.

Many countries and regions have issued conflicting advice about physical distancing, based on limited information. In addition, the questions of whether masks and eye coverings might reduce transmission in the general population, and what the optimum use of masks in healthcare settings is, have been debated.

“Our findings are the first to synthesise all direct information on Covid-19, SARS, and MERS, and provide the currently best available evidence on the optimum use of these common and simple interventions to help “flatten the curve” and inform pandemic response efforts in the community,” said Holger Schünemann from McMaster University in Canada, who co-led the research.  “Governments and public health community can use our results to give clear advice for community settings and healthcare workers on these protective measures to reduce infection risk.”

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