Research was undertaken to measure the influence of face mask legislation on Covid 19 deaths. The study covered 44 countries worldwide and indicated that growth rate for fatalities was substantially slower where regulations on mask-wearing were enforced.

The study comprised 27 nations with laws and 17 countries without, making up a total of almost one billion individuals; it took place between mid-February and the end of May last year.

“The research concluded that face masks are still a protective strategy against the spread of Covid 19, even after everyone has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated“

There were well over 2 million fatalities across all members of the study. Over 1,200,000 of these were from countries without mask laws (almost 60%), with just over 900,000 from those with. In nations with rules, average mortality per million people was less than 50, compared to almost 290 for those without.

At the start of the virus’ spread, those without mask restrictions actually had a lower mortality rate. However, that did not last long, with deaths escalating to the point at which they surpassed countries who did enforce laws.

The research concluded that face masks are still a protective strategy against the spread of Covid 19, even after everyone has had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated.

Lead investigator, Sahar Motallebi, explained that "few studies were focused on whether mask wearing may reduce COVID-19 deaths, and no study had looked at the data across multiple countries. The large sample of culturally diverse countries in this retrospective study covers a large population, giving us more evidence towards the life-saving potential of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Across variants, vaccines may reduce mortality but not necessarily morbidity, and face masks continue to protect against both. So, we don't have to choose between these two good policies of vaccination and face masks or substitute one for the other when we can and must do both in parallel."

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