This week’s expert:
Professor Raina MacIntyre, Head of Biosecurity at the Kirby Institute, University of NSW.

Drawn from an interview with Prof MacIntyre by Dr David Lim on the Healthed podcast Going Viral.

• There is evidence supporting the effectiveness of wearing a face mask for the prevention of contracting and transmitting a viral respiratory infection in three of the following groups:
a. well people in the community
b. sick people
c. health care workers

• There have been no randomised controlled trials specifically looking at the effectiveness of face masks in preventing the transmission of COVID-19, more commonly it relates to the transmission of other viral respiratory infections such as influenza.