London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Covid: What happens when people no longer have to wear masks?

Covid: What happens when people no longer have to wear masks?

Masks and face coverings are no longer compulsory in most public places in England but the government is still recommending them in crowded places.

So what does the evidence show about the effect of masks and what happens when they're no longer compulsory?

Will wearing a mask protect others?


A large body of evidence suggests wearing a mask or face covering can reduce the risk of transmitting coronavirus.

Various studies have used high-speed cameras to show they can block most of the potentially virus-laden particles coming out of people's mouths when they breathe, speak and sing.

But these laboratory studies do not show how much mask laws prevent transmission in the real world, where masks may be ill fitting or worn inconsistently or not over the mouth and nose.

And even analysing changes to cases and hospital admissions, it is difficult to pick out the effect of mask-wearing in particular.

Places where masks are mandatory are more likely to also have laws around social distancing or border controls.
And people who choose to wear masks might be more likely to also take other precautions, such as opening windows or avoiding crowds.

A study in Kansas found local areas in the state went from having the highest numbers of cases to seeing fewer hospital admissions and almost half as many deaths after introducing mask rules, compared with those that did not, even when no other rules had been introduced at the same time.

But this trend did not hold throughout the time of the study, particularly when schools re-opened. Mask rules did not necessarily correlate with actual mask-wearing.

However, a study across the US suggested states where the fewest people wore masks had the highest numbers of Covid cases - after adjusting for factors such as the population's health, wealth and age - regardless of what the law actually said about wearing a face covering.

This trend, found in countries around the world, suggests masks can reduce transmission - but it is not easy to tell how much compared with other precautions.

One review of six studies estimated mask-wearing reduced the risk of catching Covid by 60%, and 70% among healthcare staff.

But last week UK government modellers said they were unable to isolate the precise impact masks alone had had on cases.

Will a mask protect the wearer?


Some research - summarised in a scientific brief by the US's Centers for Disease Control - suggests masks can protect the wearer from infection, by reducing the amount of virus they inhale.

But one person wearing a mask does not protect them as much as if all the people around them are wearing masks.

This is mainly to do with how much potential virus ends up in the air.

If in a train carriage, there are five infected people without face coverings and one healthy masked person - that one mask is having to block five people's worth of virus.

But if those five infected people are all wearing a face covering while the healthy person is unmasked, five masks are working to block the same amount.

Much also depends on the masks' quality.

When NHS staff were given a mask upgrade, infections fell to the level among staff on wards with no Covid patients, from 47 times higher.

Will people still wear masks?


Evidence of whether people wear masks if they are free to choose is sparse.

When they were made to, the numbers of people wearing masks in England increased dramatically - although it had been rising slightly before that.

But one review suggested making it a legal requirement did not necessarily increase mask-wearing - although it varied from country to country.

What difference will the change make?


Mask-wearing was introduced at the same time as other measures, such as social distancing, making it difficult to disentangle their different effects.

Many of the places people have been most likely to catch the virus are not environments where it is most practical to wear a mask, anyway, including in people's homes.

Even in bars and restaurants, there have already been exemptions for people sitting at tables eating and drinking.

Most recorded "super-spreader" events have been in spaces where it would be less likely or impractical for people to wear masks constantly:

* cruise ships

* prisons

* nursing homes

* bars

* music events (particularly those involving singing).

And those might just be the highest-risk places.

But it is also possible masks have been working very well to keep infections down in other spaces, which could now become an additional driver of infection.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×