A CARLISLE doctor is spearheading a national campaign to get as many people as possible to wear masks every time they leave home.

Dr Helen Davison - also the Green Party’s only city councillor - has, alongside others across the country, formed the group Masks4All UK, which is calling for the nationwide mass adoption of simple cloth face masks in order to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Unlike the more sophisticated respirator masks or face shields being used by clinical staff, which are designed to protect the wearer - Dr Davison stressed that it is other people simple cloth face masks or coverings help to protect.

“It’s not about taking supplies away from frontline staff,” Dr Davison said.

Instead, Dr Davison said, the campaign is encouraging people to make their own masks, which can be done with common household items and takes just a minute or so.

“The primary purpose of wearing a mask out and about is so that we don’t infect other people,” she said.

“None of us know before we actually come down with symptoms that we have it - and that’s when we’re infectious.”

The mandatory wearing of face masks in some or all public settings is being adopted by more and more countries in a bid to slow the spread of infection, with Germany as the most recent example.

The Czech Republic was an early adopter of the policy, which when hearing about the move prompted Dr Davison to look into the science behind the decision.

“There’s an increasing body of evidence that masks work as one of the factors to reduce the transmission of coronavirus,” she said.

“The studies on the transmission of flu suggest that if 50 per cent of the population wear a mask, transmission is reduced by about 50 per cent.

“If 80 per cent wear a mask, it falls to nearly zero.”

As such, Dr Davison has the ambitious task of persuading at least 80 per cent of the country to make and wear face mask.

“A simple cloth covering or homemade cloth mask is sufficient in terms of preventing us from spreading the disease - even a scarf would do,” she said.

It is hoped by the Masks4All UK group that the UK Government will adopt the mandatory wearing of face masks in public as part of its coronavirus strategy soon.

A letter signed by 100 doctors, including Dr Davison, was recently printed in the national media, causing a significant amount of interest in its message.

The campaign has also attracted a number of celebrity endorsements, leading to the release of a campaign video featuring a number of well-known faces - all in masks.

“It’s really great to see the campaign gaining traction,” Dr Davison said.

“Every day that people aren’t wearing masks it leaves everyone vulnerable, particularly our vulnerable key workers, such as shop assistants and bus drivers.”