Last Updated on September 14, 2023 by Aditi Gangal
Quick Take
An article published by NewsPunch titled “Official Study Concludes That Masks Caused More COVID was published on May 11, 2022. We fact-checked and found this claim to be False.
The Claim
An article published by NewsPunch titled “Official Study Concludes That Masks Caused More COVID – News Punch.” It opened:
A new peer-reviewed study has concluded that masks are not only worthless against Covid-19, but wearing them might be harmful for people’s physical and mental health.”
Fact Check
Are Facemasks beneficial in preventing the spread of COVID?
Yes. Research states that “ A primary route of transmission of COVID-19 is via respiratory particles. Reducing disease spread requires two things: limiting contacts of infected individuals via physical distancing and other measures and reducing the transmission probability per contact. Current evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected respiratory particles.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends the use of mask by stating, “Wear a Mask to Protect Yourself and Others.”
According to the WHO, “Masks should be used as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission and save lives; the use of a mask alone is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection against COVID-19.”
Do Masks cause more COVID?
No. There is no substantial scientific evidence that proves that masks can cause COVID. We did not find any official study by a government or medical organization. Even in context with this story, the study is written by an individual. The conclusions section of his report says, “no cause-effect conclusions could be inferred from this observational analysis.”
Also, a report by the Office of National Statistics in the United Kingdom published on September 2021 report shows that people who never wore masks or felt they weren’t needed in enclosed spaces were more than 1.5 times more likely to test positive for COVID.
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