A microbiology expert from New York is urging Austalians to take up widespread mask use, alongside hygiene and social distancing to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Doctor Philip Tierno from the NYU School of Medicine spoke with Luke Grant on Australia Overnight about the research behind the safety measures.

“If you wear a mask, the ability of a person who is infected with the virus would be around 3% possibility of infecting another person.

“If both are wearing a mask, from the person who has the disease to the person who doesn’t, the transmission becomes less than one per cent which is significant,” Professor Tierno said.

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