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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.

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

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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)

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