Research and analysis

SPI-B: The use of facemasks in a community setting, 20 April 2020

Return by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) on the use of facemasks in a community setting.

Documents

SPI-B return to SAGE on the use of facemasks in a community setting - 20 April 2020

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contact@go-science.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Paper prepared by SPI-B on the evidence about the behavioural impact of recommending mask use, reflecting the potential for both positive and negative outcomes. It was discussed at SAGE 27 on 21 April 2020.

It should be viewed in context: the paper was the best assessment of the evidence at the time of writing. The picture is developing rapidly and, as new evidence or data emerges, SAGE updates its advice accordingly.

Therefore, some of the information in this paper may have been superseded and the author’s opinion or conclusion may since have developed.

These documents are released as pre-print publications that have provided the government with rapid evidence during an emergency. These documents have not been peer-reviewed and there is no restriction on authors submitting and publishing this evidence in peer-reviewed journals.

Published 29 May 2020