An updated Cochrane Review suggests face masks don’t reduce the spread of COVID in the community. But there are several reasons why this conclusion is misleading.
Current advice for COVID-19 health workers is based on the assumption that droplets bearing the virus travel no further than 2 metres and do not remain in the air. The body of published evidence suggests otherwise.
Hospital infection control guidelines worldwide have long recommended surgical masks for infections spread by droplets, but UNSW research challenges that approach.
Global guidelines in place to protect health workers treating Ebola in the field could be putting lives at risk, says UNSW infectious diseases expert Professor Raina MacIntyre.
