Glasses wearers got an unlikely boost on Saturday as a new study revealed that they are up to three times less likely to be infected with Covid-19.
According to the study, published on the website medRxiv, Indian-based researchers noted that touching the face, nose, mouth, and eyes after coming into contact with the virus could lead to infection.
However, they added that people who wear glasses rub their eyes less, therefore, becoming less likely to catch the virus, reports The Independent.
In a non-peer reviewed study, the researchers studied 304 people (223 male and 81 female) at a hospital in northern India over two weeks last summer. The patients were aged between 10 and 80 and had all reported Covid-19 symptoms.
Of those, 19% said they wore glasses most of the time.
The researchers found participants touched their face up to 23 times each hour on average and their eyes an average of three times per hour.
They found the risk of contracting Covid-19 was two to three times lower among those who wear glasses.
“Touching and rubbing of the eyes with contaminated hands may be a significant route of infection," the report said.
"Long term use of spectacles may prevent repeated touching and rubbing of the eyes."
Doctors have previously recommended that people who wear contact lenses switch to glasses to avoid potentially passing coronavirus from their hands to their eyes.