According to a new study, face masks can reduce the distance that airborne pathogens, such as the coronavirus, can travel by more than half.

Investigators employed specialized instruments to measure the distance that droplets and aerosols traveled in all directions from 14 people as they spoke and coughed while wearing different types of masks and without a mask. Participants recited a phrase and simulated a cough for five minutes without wearing a face covering, with a cloth face covering on, and while wearing a three-layered disposable surgical mask. Airborne emissions were found to travel to four feet in all directions when the participants were not wearing a mask, compared with about two feet while wearing a cloth face covering and about six inches while wearing a surgical mask. The study was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases… (WebMD)