Study: Widespread face mask use could stem 2nd wave population-wide . Face mask use could push COVID-19 transmission down to controllable levels for national epidemics and could prevent further waves of the pandemic disease when combined with lockdowns, according to a U.K. study. The research, led by scientists at Britain’s Cambridge and Greenwich Universities, suggests lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of the coronavirus, but that even homemade masks can dramatically reduce transmission rates if enough people wear them in public.