According to a study published on Friday in the journal Nature Medicine projects, nearly 130,000 of American lives might be saved if 95% of the country wear masks in public.

The study also says that if 85% of the people started wearing masks, around 96,000 fewer lives would be lost.

Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation have projected that COVID-19 death toll can surpass a million between September 2020 and February 2021 if easing restrictions continue in the states.

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The study also predicts that 511,000 could die between September and February under the assumption that “states would once again shut down social interaction and some economic activity” for six weeks.

The estimations were based on COVID-19 case and mortality data from 1 February 2020 to 21 September 2020.

Researchers also found that usage of masks can reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission up to 40%.

According to the data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 224,899 people have died in the US due to COVID-19.