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FACT BRIEF

Is there substantial evidence that masks or lockdowns slow the spread of COVID-19?

By Olivera Perkins
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YES

There are dozens of scientific studies showing that wearing masks and instituting lockdowns or stay-at-home orders have been effective in slowing the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

A review of face mask studies in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal found that the "literature offers evidence in favor of widespread mask use as source control to reduce community transmission."

A study in the Applied Health Economics and Health Policy journal found that lockdown policies "have been able to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in the countries that implemented them."

A year into the pandemic, evidence has accumulated showing how face masks work in slowing the transmission of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discusses on its website the effectiveness of cloth masks.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19
National Library of Medicine The Efficacy of Lockdown Against COVID-19: A Cross-Country Panel Analysis
Centers for Disease Control Science Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.