Universal mask wearing could prevent 130,000 deaths from the coronavirus by the end of February 2021, a new study said Friday.

It found that if even 85% of the U.S. population exercised mask wearing, at least 96,000 lives could be saved. Universal mask wearing was defined in the study as 95% compliance.

Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist said in a CNBC report that people across the U.S. have to be "very careful" and change behaviors as the nation moves towards winter.

Winter is the worst season for viral transmission, but with universal mask wearing, half a million deaths could happen in the U.S., The Hill reported.

There is a noticeable rise even with all the precautionary measures in place like masks, mobility and testing restrictions.

"COVID-19 is seasonal," said Mokdad, noting that there will be more cases and deaths in December and January.

The research on was published in the journal Nature Medicine by a team from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

The U.S. reported over 83,000 new daily COVID-19 cases on Friday, as per John Hopkins University data.  Previously, the all-time high was set at about 77,000 new infections on July 16.

Overall the U.S. has seen more than 8 million total coronavirus cases and over 224,000 deaths.

Fighting the Pandemic with Universal Mask Wearing

"We want to give a chance for public health and for people to help each other by wearing a mask in order to not overwhelm our hospitals and ICUs," Mokdad said.

Scientists have repeatedly argued that a vaccine or new coronavirus treatments won't be ready anytime this year.

That means until a vaccine or treatment becomes available, masks and other safety measures are the best ways to fight the virus.

Social distancing, increased testing and isolation of the infected will be the only tools available in reducing transmission for the next months.

It's exactly what public health officials have been pushing for in the past months, but mask wearing still remains a controversial issue in the country.

Not all Americans are wearing a mask at all times, with only 49% saying they always wear a mask when in public.

High Universal Mask Wearing Threshold

The study can ensure the public's safety from the virus, but the researchers also acknowledged that their threshold of 95% is optimistic.

Despite this, they also noted some neighborhoods in New York that reached that threshold. Other states like Florida and California also met a 60% adoption of the mask use policy.

Other states have already rolled back on some coronavirus restrictions, including mask mandates while others still refuse to issue a mandate.

In a worst-case scenario prediction, it is projected that there could be more than a million deaths nationwide by the end of February 2021 if states continue to roll back restriction.

Implementing measures such as school closures, stay-at-home orders and gathering restrictions as soon as a state hits eight daily deaths per million could also reduce the risks of transmission, the researchers said.

But this leaves Americans with a choice: use masks more often or continue implementing economically damaging closures and restrictions.

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