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No need for healthy to wear face masks, says WHO after review
Organisation says no evidence that wearing a mask outdoors prevents Covid-19 infection
The World Health Organization has held off from recommending people wear face masks in public after assessing fresh evidence that suggested the items may help to contain the pandemic.
The WHO reviewed its position on masks in light of data from Hong Kong indicating that their widespread use in the community may have reduced the spread of coronavirus in some regions.
But in updated guidance published on Monday, the organisation maintained that while masks could help limit the spread of the disease, they were insufficient on their own. There was no evidence that wearing a mask in the community prevented healthy people from picking up respiratory infections including Covid-19, it said.
Prof David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who chaired the WHO’s scientific and technical advisory group for infectious hazards, said that unless people were working in healthcare settings, masks are “only for the protection of others, not for the protection of oneself”.
The committee acknowledged the virus can be transmitted by people who do not have symptoms, but said the virus must still spread via droplets or contaminated surfaces, which physical distancing and handwashing are intended to minimise.
According to the updated advice, people with coronavirus symptoms should wear a face mask, self-isolate and seek medical advice as soon as they start to feel unwell, while those caring for them should wear a face mask when they are in the same room.
The WHO guidance on healthy people wearing masks in public appears to conflict with recent advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which urged the US public to wear cloth face coverings in pharmacies, groceries and other public places where physical distancing can be hard to maintain.
Heymann said masks could create a false sense of security that could end up putting people at greater risk. Even with the mouth and nose fully covered, the virus can still enter through the eyes.
“People think they are protected when they are not,” he said. “Healthcare workers, in addition to the masks, wear visors too, to protect the eyes.”
Another concern is that people may contaminate themselves when they adjust, remove and dispose of their masks.
The WHO said people who chose to wear masks in public should follow its advice to ensure they were using them safely. It said countries that recommended masks for the general population should set up studies to monitor their effectiveness.
William Keevil, a professor of environmental healthcare at the University of Southampton, said governments felt under pressure to be seen to be doing something, even if it was a waste of time and valuable resources.
“Cloth masks and poor quality surgical face masks will not filter fine respiratory droplets, and certainly not aerosols, which some are now claiming to be an infection risk,” he said. “The major question that needs to be addressed is: what about protecting the eyes, a known route of entry?.”
Dr Elaine Shuo Feng, an epidemiologist at Oxford University, supports the US stance on face masks and said it would be sensible for people who may have been exposed to the virus to wear face masks outdoors because of the risk of passing on the virus.
“It would be helpful if high-risk people – elderly, people with chronic conditions – wear a face mask if they can’t avoid crowed areas, because these people have the highest risk of severe outcomes such as ICU/death if infected,” she said.
Organisation says no evidence that wearing a mask outdoors prevents Covid-19 infection
The World Health Organization has held off from recommending people wear face masks in public after assessing fresh evidence that suggested the items may help to contain the pandemic.
The WHO reviewed its position on masks in light of data from Hong Kong indicating that their widespread use in the community may have reduced the spread of coronavirus in some regions.
But in updated guidance published on Monday, the organisation maintained that while masks could help limit the spread of the disease, they were insufficient on their own. There was no evidence that wearing a mask in the community prevented healthy people from picking up respiratory infections including Covid-19, it said.
Prof David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who chaired the WHO’s scientific and technical advisory group for infectious hazards, said that unless people were working in healthcare settings, masks are “only for the protection of others, not for the protection of oneself”.
The committee acknowledged the virus can be transmitted by people who do not have symptoms, but said the virus must still spread via droplets or contaminated surfaces, which physical distancing and handwashing are intended to minimise.
According to the updated advice, people with coronavirus symptoms should wear a face mask, self-isolate and seek medical advice as soon as they start to feel unwell, while those caring for them should wear a face mask when they are in the same room.
The WHO guidance on healthy people wearing masks in public appears to conflict with recent advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which urged the US public to wear cloth face coverings in pharmacies, groceries and other public places where physical distancing can be hard to maintain.
Heymann said masks could create a false sense of security that could end up putting people at greater risk. Even with the mouth and nose fully covered, the virus can still enter through the eyes.
“People think they are protected when they are not,” he said. “Healthcare workers, in addition to the masks, wear visors too, to protect the eyes.”
Another concern is that people may contaminate themselves when they adjust, remove and dispose of their masks.
The WHO said people who chose to wear masks in public should follow its advice to ensure they were using them safely. It said countries that recommended masks for the general population should set up studies to monitor their effectiveness.
William Keevil, a professor of environmental healthcare at the University of Southampton, said governments felt under pressure to be seen to be doing something, even if it was a waste of time and valuable resources.
“Cloth masks and poor quality surgical face masks will not filter fine respiratory droplets, and certainly not aerosols, which some are now claiming to be an infection risk,” he said. “The major question that needs to be addressed is: what about protecting the eyes, a known route of entry?.”
Dr Elaine Shuo Feng, an epidemiologist at Oxford University, supports the US stance on face masks and said it would be sensible for people who may have been exposed to the virus to wear face masks outdoors because of the risk of passing on the virus.
“It would be helpful if high-risk people – elderly, people with chronic conditions – wear a face mask if they can’t avoid crowed areas, because these people have the highest risk of severe outcomes such as ICU/death if infected,” she said.
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They’ll just take your kids away instead...
https://youtu.be/bmtEGNdee2Y
https://youtu.be/bmtEGNdee2Y
Tiny droplets of saliva that are sprayed into the air when people speak may be sufficient to spread coronavirus, according to US government scientists who say the finding could help control the outbreak.
Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland found that talking released thousands of fine droplets into the air that could pose a risk to others if the speaker were infected with the virus.
The scientists used laser imaging and high-speed videography to show how thousands of droplets that are too small to see with the naked eye are emitted in normal speech, even in short phrases such as “stay healthy”.
The work is preliminary and has not been peer-reviewed or published, but in a report the scientists claim the findings may have “vital implications” for containing the pandemic.
“If speaking and oral fluid viral load proves to be a major mechanism of Sars-CoV-2 [the official name of the virus] transmission, wearing any kind of cloth mouth cover in public by every person, as well as strict adherence to social distancing and handwashing, could significantly decrease the transmission rate and thereby contain the pandemic until a vaccine becomes available,” the researchers write.
The results will fuel the ongoing debate over whether or not healthy people should wear face masks in public. Recent advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for members of the public to wear cloth face covers when they visit places where it is hard to maintain physical distancing, such as pharmacies and grocery stores.
But the US advice contrasts with that from the World Health Organization, which reviewed its stance on face masks last week. In updated guidance published on Monday it restated that there was no evidence wearing a mask in public prevented people from picking up respiratory infections such as Covid-19.
The positions are not as conflicting as they seem, though. The WHO concedes that people who are infected with the virus but do not show symptoms can still spread the virus, and that a mask may reduce the number of droplets they spray into the air. Their primary argument is that wearing a mask in public is unlikely to protect the wearer from viruses can penetrate cloth masks, and the virus can still invade the body through the eyes.
The US team, led by Adriaan Bax at the NIH’s Laboratory of Chemical Physics, repurposed laser instrumentation to detect otherwise invisible mists of droplets that are released when people speak. In a single 17-millisecond frame they counted as many as 360 saliva droplets when the phrase “stay healthy” was spoken.
The scientists have not analysed the droplets for their ability to carry coronavirus particles but said they were sufficiently large to carry a variety of respiratory pathogens including the measles and influenza viruses.
“A damp homemade cloth face mask dramatically reduced droplet excretion, with none of the spoken words causing a droplet rise above the background,” the scientists said.
Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland found that talking released thousands of fine droplets into the air that could pose a risk to others if the speaker were infected with the virus.
The scientists used laser imaging and high-speed videography to show how thousands of droplets that are too small to see with the naked eye are emitted in normal speech, even in short phrases such as “stay healthy”.
The work is preliminary and has not been peer-reviewed or published, but in a report the scientists claim the findings may have “vital implications” for containing the pandemic.
“If speaking and oral fluid viral load proves to be a major mechanism of Sars-CoV-2 [the official name of the virus] transmission, wearing any kind of cloth mouth cover in public by every person, as well as strict adherence to social distancing and handwashing, could significantly decrease the transmission rate and thereby contain the pandemic until a vaccine becomes available,” the researchers write.
The results will fuel the ongoing debate over whether or not healthy people should wear face masks in public. Recent advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for members of the public to wear cloth face covers when they visit places where it is hard to maintain physical distancing, such as pharmacies and grocery stores.
But the US advice contrasts with that from the World Health Organization, which reviewed its stance on face masks last week. In updated guidance published on Monday it restated that there was no evidence wearing a mask in public prevented people from picking up respiratory infections such as Covid-19.
The positions are not as conflicting as they seem, though. The WHO concedes that people who are infected with the virus but do not show symptoms can still spread the virus, and that a mask may reduce the number of droplets they spray into the air. Their primary argument is that wearing a mask in public is unlikely to protect the wearer from viruses can penetrate cloth masks, and the virus can still invade the body through the eyes.
The US team, led by Adriaan Bax at the NIH’s Laboratory of Chemical Physics, repurposed laser instrumentation to detect otherwise invisible mists of droplets that are released when people speak. In a single 17-millisecond frame they counted as many as 360 saliva droplets when the phrase “stay healthy” was spoken.
The scientists have not analysed the droplets for their ability to carry coronavirus particles but said they were sufficiently large to carry a variety of respiratory pathogens including the measles and influenza viruses.
“A damp homemade cloth face mask dramatically reduced droplet excretion, with none of the spoken words causing a droplet rise above the background,” the scientists said.
why we should be wearing masks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkN8yCWSGus
he started reporting on the virus over 70 days ago, he called it a pandemic at the end of january - he strongly recommends wearing masks. at a minimum you will either inhale or exhale lesser amounts so you will be less at risk of getting and giving. it also stops you from touching your mouth and nose, two of the three entry points.
the czech republic mandated wearing masks in public some time ago and they are doing a lot better than many other european countries (they also went hard and early with their lock down).
this research suggests airborne spread and masks work -
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2?fbclid=IwAR2gtoGs4PeNnRzu9H6gDdt3rqnU02RuE-khj5LKCLG20LR1H9fDzuf5qW0
whereas this research says not (but is on a sample size of four) -
https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2764367/effectiveness-surgical-cotton-masks-blocking-sars-cov-2-controlled-comparison#.Xoum-YiTbEI.twitter
he started reporting on the virus over 70 days ago, he called it a pandemic at the end of january - he strongly recommends wearing masks. at a minimum you will either inhale or exhale lesser amounts so you will be less at risk of getting and giving. it also stops you from touching your mouth and nose, two of the three entry points.
the czech republic mandated wearing masks in public some time ago and they are doing a lot better than many other european countries (they also went hard and early with their lock down).
this research suggests airborne spread and masks work -
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0843-2?fbclid=IwAR2gtoGs4PeNnRzu9H6gDdt3rqnU02RuE-khj5LKCLG20LR1H9fDzuf5qW0
whereas this research says not (but is on a sample size of four) -
https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2764367/effectiveness-surgical-cotton-masks-blocking-sars-cov-2-controlled-comparison#.Xoum-YiTbEI.twitter
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