New research reveals the the areas in Britain least likely to adopt facemasks as confusion over their effectiveness persists.
The UK Mask Map, produce by The N95 Mask Company, also reveals the top five cities and towns planning on embracing facial coverings.
Cities including Durham, London and Newcastle ranked highest for their mask-wearing intentions, whereas Leicester, Dudley and Wrexham had the lowest rates for people intending to wear masks.
The map of the UK displays the regions that will be donning face masks and those that will not be entertaining the idea.
Greater London reported 76% of residents would be sporting masks, followed closely by North East England at 68% and Wales with 61%.
The South East, East England and the East Midlands ranked lowest in terms of their mask-wearing intentions.
Earlier this week 14 top scientists from the prestigious Royal Society confirmed that face masks are an important tool for fighting the coronavirus.
Face masks are already central to the lockdown exit strategies of many countries where wearing face masks is now mandatory in public, however the UK Government is yet to set rules on mask-wearing.
According to the survey of 2,000 UK adults, three in five adults said they would wear a mask (61%) in public to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and, reassuringly, 95 percent would wear one if they presented coronavirus symptoms.
NHS GP and Clinical Advisor to The N95 Mask Company, Dr Gero Baiarda said: “It’s concerning that so many people are actively choosing not to wear any face-covering at all to protect themselves and others, despite the latest government advice being that covering the face could play an important part in the fight against the further spread of Covid-19.
“I suspect the widespread use of masks by the public will be integral to the gradual easing of UK lockdown restrictions as they have been in other countries globally.
“It is without doubt that there are a number of physical and psychological barriers to wearing masks, but these must be put aside in the interest of our health.
“My advice to everyone is to wear a face mask whenever you might come into close proximity with other people outside of your own home – this could be in an open or closed space. If you find yourself having to consciously maintain a two-metre distance, you should be wearing a mask.
“When choosing a mask, it is important to ensure there is a tight seal with no gaps as this will maximise the protection it provides.”
Ayrton Campbell, Founder of The N95 Mask Company added: “Our ambition is to ensure everyone in the UK has access to a steady supply of effective face masks.
“We have offered our entire stock and supply infrastructure support to the NHS, and should they decide to accept at any point we will revert to supplying the NHS as a priority.”
