Original version

BBC World Service South Asia

More or Less

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

More or Less: Does wearing a mask halve your chances of getting Covid-19?

Magazines & Reviews

Factual

Commuters wear face masks

05/12/2021 GMT

Does wearing a mask halve your chances of getting Covid-19?

BBC World Service - More or Less, Does wearing a mask halve your chances of getting Covid-19?

Is it true wearing a mask reduces Covid-19 incidence by 53%?

Several newspapers reported that wearing a mask can reduce Covid-19 cases by 53% is this true?

Masks, you may not have worn them before 2020 but now we’re all at it. With the rise of the Omicron variant countries have scrambled to reintroduce public health policies, among them mask wearing. Health officials and scientists agree that masks help reduce the incidence of covid19 infections – but by how much is still debated. Several newspapers recently reported that masks could cut Covid-19 infections by 53%, we look at how they came to this number and whether we should be believe it. 



(Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

More or Less

Does wearing a mask halve your chances of getting Covid-19?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service South Asia

About BBC World Service