Huge numbers of people are wearing face masks – in Japan and South Korea there have been reports of stores selling out. The hope is that wearing masks in high-risk areas will at least slow the spread of the disease, but just how helpful they are is moot. Furthermore, says MacIntyre, “surgical masks are not regulated. Anyone can sell anything and call it a surgical mask. Different designs of surgical mask were tested, including the standard strip of fabric, a duck-bill-shaped one and a 3D moulded one.

Source: The Guardian January 31, 2020 17:15 UTC