Masks help prevent the spread of the coronavirus—here’s a breakdown of how effective they are
Wearing a mask is one of the most important things you can do right now (Julian Wan/Unsplash/)Follow all of PopSci’s COVID-19 coverage here, including tips on cleaning groceries, ways to tell if your symptoms are just allergies, and a tutorial on making your own mask.Over the past several months, the idea of wearing a face covering has been hotly debated. In the beginning of the pandemic, the general recommendation was that masks should be reserved for medical professionals only. At the time, this made sense. There was a major mask shortage, and virologists and epidemiologists didn’t have enough information about how the coronavirus spread to know whether masks would prevent the coronavirus from spreading outside of a medical setting.But a mounting body of evidence makes it clear that masks do prevent the spread of the virus—especially the more people wear them properly.One key factor that sealed the deal for general...