Kinda what I've been saying for the past year now
Masks are unlikely to halt the spread of the omicron variant, an Oxford professor warned as face coverings were reintroduced on public transport and in shops.
From Tuesday, shoppers and travellers in England face fines of £200 for refusing to wear a mask, with the penalties doubling for each offence to a maximum of £6,400.
However, Jim Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and professor of structural biology at the University of Oxford, said mask mandates had done little to prevent the spread of the delta variant in Scotland and were unlikely to stop omicron.
Scotland kept its mask rules after lifting restrictions in the summer, with coverings mandatory in shops and public transport as well as in schools and when not seated pubs and restaurants.
Despite the rules, the country saw a surge of Covid infections in the autumn, similar to rises seen in England.
Prof Naismith said: "The Office for National Statistics survey results on prevalence shows that the Scottish and English approach to masking, although formally different since July, has made no meaningful difference to delta.
"In both countries, very high levels of prevalence have continued for months. Thus the new changes announced are unlikely to have much of an impact if omicron does indeed spread rapidly."
Experts remain divided on how much impact face masks have in preventing the spread of Covid. Some believe they are only useful when social distancing cannot be maintained, while others think they prevent the picking up of virus particles in the air even when people are not close.
Robert Dingwall, a professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University and a former government Covid adviser, said: "We can certainly say with confidence that all the extra restrictions in those nations do not seem to be having much effect, given that the trajectory of infections does not differ markedly from that in England.
"However, we cannot then go on to single out one element and draw conclusions about that. Mask mandates are only one part of the package, and the comparisons often lack details about enforcement and compliance.
"I hear, for example, that Aberdeen is much more relaxed than either Glasgow or Edinburgh – and I suspect that once you get into smaller towns there is very little going on.
"In my view, the only thing that really has an impact on transmission is working from home and reducing social contacts altogether, but the Government is desperate not to stall the back to the office
Masks are unlikely to halt the spread of the omicron variant, an Oxford professor warned as face coverings were reintroduced on public transport and in shops.
From Tuesday, shoppers and travellers in England face fines of £200 for refusing to wear a mask, with the penalties doubling for each offence to a maximum of £6,400.
However, Jim Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and professor of structural biology at the University of Oxford, said mask mandates had done little to prevent the spread of the delta variant in Scotland and were unlikely to stop omicron.
Scotland kept its mask rules after lifting restrictions in the summer, with coverings mandatory in shops and public transport as well as in schools and when not seated pubs and restaurants.
Despite the rules, the country saw a surge of Covid infections in the autumn, similar to rises seen in England.
Prof Naismith said: "The Office for National Statistics survey results on prevalence shows that the Scottish and English approach to masking, although formally different since July, has made no meaningful difference to delta.
"In both countries, very high levels of prevalence have continued for months. Thus the new changes announced are unlikely to have much of an impact if omicron does indeed spread rapidly."
Experts remain divided on how much impact face masks have in preventing the spread of Covid. Some believe they are only useful when social distancing cannot be maintained, while others think they prevent the picking up of virus particles in the air even when people are not close.
Robert Dingwall, a professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University and a former government Covid adviser, said: "We can certainly say with confidence that all the extra restrictions in those nations do not seem to be having much effect, given that the trajectory of infections does not differ markedly from that in England.
"However, we cannot then go on to single out one element and draw conclusions about that. Mask mandates are only one part of the package, and the comparisons often lack details about enforcement and compliance.
"I hear, for example, that Aberdeen is much more relaxed than either Glasgow or Edinburgh – and I suspect that once you get into smaller towns there is very little going on.
"In my view, the only thing that really has an impact on transmission is working from home and reducing social contacts altogether, but the Government is desperate not to stall the back to the office
She only mentioned cloth masks which anyone with half a cell in their brain would know cloth masks don't cut it or a mask around the face full of gaps, or any mask worn under the nose and used as a chin strap.
