A panel of experts is meeting at the World Health Organisation today to consider whether more of us should be wearing face masks in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19.
It follows new research published in the US which suggests that a sneeze or a cough can potentially travel much further than first thought.
It suggests that coughs and sneezes can travel not only as droplets but can also form what are called 'turbulent gas clouds', which can travel up to 6 metres in the case of coughs and up to 8 metres when it comes to a human sneeze.
The study 'Turbulent Gas Clouds and Respiratory Pathogen Emissions' by DrLydia Bourouiba at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has already resulted in a rethink on the issue in the USA.