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There has been a shift in world opinion on wearing of face masks to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
The World Health Organization WHO had continued to recommend that masks are only needed by people displaying COVID-19 symptoms such as coughing and sneezing, those starting to feel sick and “pre-symptomatic”, or caring for the sick, emphasising that masks must be disposed of properly.
One reason according to Dr Dale Fisher, an infectious disease physician and chair of the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network is that mask use can easily backfire if mishandled.
He said many mask-wearers may feel a “false sense of security” and can easily end up transferring any virus droplets on the surface of their mask onto their hands or the surfaces in their home when they take off the mask.
“If you wear a mask in the community, the next thing you realise it’s on the table beside you or it will be under your chin when you answer the phone. Distancing and washing these are the ways to stop [the virus] not (to) wear a mask all the time,” he said.
However, Jason Wang, a physician and director of Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention at Stanford University, said growing evidence about the nature of SARS-CoV-2, the highly-infectious virus associated with COVID-19, suggests masks may be necessary at all times when in social settings.
While the precise effectiveness of masks is still unknown, a recent study in the highly respected New England Journal of Medicine found that SARS-CoV-2 particles can linger for as long as three hours after they are transmitted.
“What that means is if it stays in the air for more than three hours and if someone coughs with SARS-CoV-2, you can get exposed. This is nothing to be adamant about this is science. When that happens basically you have to rethink the transmission of this virus,” Wang said.
He added: “Even the US is changing its tune. Now they are saying a mask – wear a cloth mask if you can’t find a medical mask or bandana. In the epidemic when you see new studies and new evidence – and this is a very well done study – then you have to change your practice.”
The United States is now urging people to wear face masks when they go outside amid growing evidence suggests that even a simple cloth mask can be an effective tool against the coronavirus if it is used correctly, according to health experts.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reversed its long-standing position on face masks last week – telling Americans they should now wear one when they go outside.
According to Aljazeera, some countries have already made it mandatory to wear masks in public – no one in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the outbreak began late last year was allowed onto the street without one amid a strictly-enforced quarantine – while other governments, such as Singapore, distribute a set of masks to each household.
Some health experts however advised those using cloth masks to put immediately after use into a dish with soap and water or into a plastic bag and then hands washed or disinfect immediately to prevent the spread of the contagion.
