Face mask use reduces risk of COVID-19 infection

Objectives:
Does face mask use reduce risk of COVID-19 infection?

Study design:
This review article included 4 articles with a total of 7,688 participants.

Egger’s test has shown no publication bias in the included studies [p = 0.08].

Results and conclusions:                
The investigators found face mask use significantly reduced risk of COVID-19 infection with 88% [pooled RR = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.06 to 0.27, p 0.001, I2 = 43.3%].

The investigators concluded there is an association between face mask use and reduction of COVID-19 infection. Based on the recent publications, it must consider the likelihood of airborne transmission of COVID-19. It is rational to recommend using face masks as an acceptable advice for general population. Of course, it needs more experiments to confirm SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission.

Original title:
Airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the role of face mask to prevent it: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Tabatabaeizadeh SA.

Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7776300/

Additional information of El Mondo:
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