More and more studies are showing why it’s so important to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has published a new study that is reported to show that the droplets people produce simply by talking to each other can be enough to spread the novel coronavirus. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. It concludes that “there is a substantial probability that normal speaking causes airborne virus transmission in confined environments,” according to USA Today. The scientists found that a minute of talking loudly can produce more than 1,000 droplets that can stay in the air for over eight minutes. A spokesperson for the institute said their work “adds support to the importance of wearing a mask, as recommended by the CDC.”
