Can Covid-19 spread when someone coughs through a mask? This is what the science says | Health24

By now, Covid-19 is synonymous with facemasks, and even though the use of facemasks was still questioned earlier on in the pandemic, the World Health Organization has updated its guidelines on masks since then.

Even though there is convincing literature to prove that a mask may reduce your risk of becoming infected with Covid-19 or infecting someone else, researchers have stated that face masks alone are not sufficient protection and can only be effective when paired with stringent hand hygiene and a distance of at least 2m between you and other people.

Now, research published in the journal Physics of Fluid showed that the filtering ability of a mask may be hampered by factors such as repeated coughing.