Wearing a face mask does help reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19, according to a major UK study, that found that specialized N95 types or two surgical masks worn together were likely to have the greatest effect.

In contrast to some European neighbors, the British government has lifted all requirements for wearing face coverings, although businesses and transport companies are able to make their own rules.

However, with cases of COVID-19 on the rise, the research from Public Health England's Respiratory Evidence Panel suggests that even cloth face masks can help cut down the spread of the virus.

They found that the difference in cutting transmission in community settings was between not wearing any face covering and wearing a cloth face covering. There was then a further, albeit smaller, benefit from people wearing a surgical or N95 mask.

To date, 78.7 percent of the British population is fully vaccinated, while 85.7 percent have received a first dose of the vaccine.

But cases have been high and rising in the UK since restrictions were lifted - with infection rates near, or at, the highest levels in Europe - there were more than 45,000 cases reported on Thursday, which is the highest since the January peak, apart from a couple of days in July.

That doesn't mean that the vaccines are not working to protect people - daily deaths remain relatively low, at about just over 100 a day compared with more than 1,000 a day during the January wave.

READ MORE:

Volcano eruption: No end in sight

UK ports at breaking point

Rome battles wild pig problem

The study from the Respiratory Evidence Panel found that it is possible to get COVID-19 even beyond a two-meter distance, and that when it occurs, it is usually in poorly ventilated indoor settings. 

Although the panel says there is not enough evidence to determine whether airborne transmission is predominant compared with the direct transmission of the virus, the study found that ventilation, hand hygiene and face coverings were still the best preventative measures.

They also found that that's true about all types of face coverings, including non-medical cloth ones.

"Overall, the evidence suggests that all face coverings are, to some extent, effective in reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in both healthcare and community settings. 

"N95 respirators are likely to be the most effective, followed by surgical masks and then non-medical masks, although optimised non-medical masks made of 2 or 3 layers might have similar efficiency than surgical masks," the review of evidence from the UK Health Security Agency says.

N95 face masks are named because they filter out 95% of small particles. In Europe they are known as FFP2.

What masks do, mostly, is capture the droplets of those infected with COVID-19 as they speak, cough or breath out, while on a lesser level protecting mask-wearers from inhaling them. 

But wearing a face mask is not enough, found the study - the way we use a face mask, for how long, and how well it fits, significantly affect its effectiveness.

The study found that a more consistent use of N95 masks corresponded with a lower risk of infection, while wearing two face surgical masks instead of one improved their fitting and their effectiveness.

The experts called for a public education campaign on the fitting of face masks, and how to put them on and take them off.

_{Cover image: Mix and Match Studio, via VCG}