associations between wearing masks, hand washing, and the risk of covid-19 contraction: a case-control study in the northwest of iran

Background: scientists believe that the new coronavirus causing covid-19 is airborne. it has been approved that wearing masks and hand washing prevent the spread of covid-19. this study aimed to evaluate the association between wearing facemasks, hand washing, and covid-19 contraction in the population of tabriz, iran. materials & methods: in this analytical study, necessary information was collected via four online multi-optional questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, the covid-19 virus, mask-wearing behaviors, and hand hygiene habits among 360 individuals (120 cases and 240 controls). based on data normality, quantitative variables were reported as mean ± standard deviation or the median (min-max). in addition, the relationship between qualitative variables was evaluated by the fisher’s exact test, and correlations were assessed by the spearman's test. results: elderly individuals and their care seekers had fewer potentials for exposure to covid-19 (p = 0.010), but healthcare workers were at a higher risk of contracting the virus than other occupations (p = 0.002). in addition, smokers were at a lower risk of the disease than other healthy people (p = 0.009). furthermore, the incidence of covid-19 was significantly higher among individuals not wearing facemasks than others (p = 0.007). conclusions: we concluded that wearing a facemask was more effective than hand washing and antiseptics in preventing the incidence of covid-19 contraction; thus, people not wearing facemasks were at a higher risk of the viral infection.