More effective use of face masks and better social distancing would help the coronavirus pandemic come to a quicker end, according to UK scientists.
Researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Liverpool said control measures should therefore "increase in strength" as lockdowns across the four nations are lifted.
Modelling found hand washing, social distancing and the wearing of face masks – so-called "non-spatial" measures – combined with the rollout of the vaccination programme would help keep the Covid-19 R number "constant or even reduce it" over the coming weeks.
Without these measures, scientists modelled an "inevitable" increase in infection rates.
The modelling, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, came from wider research looking at control strategies for plant diseases.
Study author Dr Yevhen Suprunenko, a research associate in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences, said: “More effective use of control measures like face masks and hand washing would help us to stop the pandemic faster, or to get better results in halting transmission through the vaccination programme.
“This also means we could avoid another potential lockdown.”
Dr Stephen Cornell from the University of Liverpool and co-author of the paper added: “Measures such as lockdowns that limit how far potentially infected people move can have a stronger impact on controlling the spread of disease, but methods that reduce the risk of transmission whenever people mix provide an inexpensive way to supplement them."
Professor Chris Gilligan, from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences – also a co-author – said the modelling could help find better ways to deal with future epidemics.
“Our new model will help us study how different infectious diseases can spread and become endemic,” he said.
“This will enable us to find better control strategies, and stop future epidemics faster and more efficiently.”
