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A new study analysing how face masks stop the spread of coronavirus infection has found that homemade face masks can help – but with a significant drawback. A team at the University of Edinburgh tested seven different types of face masks to see how they reduce the spread of COVID-19. The UK has recommended homemade masks when using enclosed spaces like public transport and shops but other countries like Spain have mandated face masks outdoors for everyone over the age of six.

The head researcher Dr Ignazio Maria Viola remarked that the surprised research team were “generally impressed by the effectiveness of all the face coverings we tested”.

The seven masks put to the test included surgical masks, respirators, lightweight and heavy-duty face shields, and handmade masks.

All of the face coverings except from those with a valve were found to reduce the forward distance travelled by an exhaled breath by at least 90 percent.

Valves on masks are typically added to make breathing easier but experts found this “could potentially allow infectious air to spread considerable distances in front”.

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To the alarm of the researchers, surgical and handmade masks also generated “far-reaching leakage jets to the side, behind and above and below”.

These produced “intense backward jets” whenever someone was coughing or breathing heavily.

Full-face shields worn without a mask enabled “a strong downward jet” to be released.

Dr Felicity Mehendale, a surgeon at the Centre for Global Health, said it was “reassuring to see the handmade mask worked just as well as the surgical mask to stop the wearer’s breath flowing directly forwards”.

However, she warned: “The strong backward jets mean you need to think twice before turning your head if you cough while wearing a mask.

“Be careful if you stand behind or beside someone wearing a mask.”

The team of researchers at the University of Edinburgh has urged the Government to use its findings to change official guidance on masks to help tackle COVID-19. 

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In the study, measurements were taken from people wearing different face coverings from people standing or lying down, as well as from a mannequin connected to a cough-simulating machine.

A special type of imaging was used to detect the distance and direction travelled by the air that is expelled when someone coughs or breathes heavily.

Dr Viola told Sky News what a mask needs to protect someone from spreading the virus: “Firstly, you need to have multiple layers to make it effective.

“Second it is important to seal all gaps hence it should be tightish otherwise air will be projected at high speed in directions that we are not aware of and that we cannot control.”

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