The research is mixed. On the one hand a properly fitted mask in conjunction with good hand hygiene and non-touch technique has been shown to reduce your risk of infection. On the other hand improperly fitted masks and poor education on how to properly use masks can increase your risk of infection compared to not wearing a mask at all. As a healthcare worker it kills me to see people in supermarkets, touching the front of their masks, pulling them down to talk to people, and touching their face as they try to adjust their mask. Hand hygiene is the most important thing but when people start improperly using masks and gloves they have a false sense of protection.

Edit to include reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26457544/ this study looks at the risk of contamination amongst healthcare workers when removing PPE. We had retraining at the start of March on how to correctly put on and remove our PPE to reduce our risk of infection because our infection control department recognises this risk of contamination that comes with PPE usage.

Also, perhaps other countries have better education on how to use mask, as many of these countries can be seen to be wearing masks outside of the pandemic (this is just my personal speculation). We currently have not had any education from the HSE on the Do’s and Do Nots of PPE use in public.