{"id":1996,"date":"2020-04-09T10:41:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T09:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1996"},"modified":"2021-12-17T16:41:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T08:41:51","slug":"to-mask-or-not-to-mask-the-latest-who-recommendations-change-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/to-mask-or-not-to-mask-the-latest-who-recommendations-change-course\/","title":{"rendered":"To mask or not to mask? The latest WHO recommendations change course"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we first heard of the pandemic of the COVID-19, we have heard many, often contradicting, advisories on how to <\/span>stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak<\/span><\/a>. Most of the official recommendations included staying at home if possible, maintaining good personal hygiene, and keeping healthy. However, since the very beginning of the outbreak, there was one uncertain matter: the protective face masks. To mask or not to mask? That is the question the team at <\/span>Pacific Prime UK<\/span><\/a> will try to answer in this feature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Individual<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n

What are surgical masks supposed to do?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics here. Surgical masks are primarily meant to prevent the spread of diseases in a healthcare environment. In particular, surgical masks are designed to limit the spread of airborne diseases such as the common cold, influenza, and coronaviruses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Airborne viruses are often transmitted through air droplets that are released after an infected person coughs, sneezes, or even breathes. Wearing a surgical, or for the matter, other forms of face masks, can minimize the spread of viruses. Additionally, wearing masks prevents people from touching their faces, for example, after touching a contaminated surface, like a handle on the train.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can masks protect you from getting infected with the coronavirus?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Medical masks were first widely worn in the medical community during the Spanish flu outbreak some 100 years ago. Since then, studies have shown that wearing masks can reduce the infection rate of influenza by <\/span>up to 80%<\/span><\/a>. Surgical masks, therefore, can be an effective tool to help prevent the spread of diseases such as the coronavirus and influenza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, to work as intended, <\/span>masks need to be worn properly<\/span><\/a>, and wearing masks need to be complemented with other disease prevention methods, such as social distancing, and frequent hand washing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the WHO had to say about wearing masks?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Since the beginning of the outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that masks should be worn only by those who are sick, and by medical and care workers treating them. Above all, there was a strict message instructing people who are well not to wear them, and one of the reasons was to ensure adequate stock for the medical professionals on the front line battling the virus. The main ways to protect ourselves from contracting the virus was frequent handwashing, and social distancing, by keeping at least one metre apart from others in public places.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The change of mind<\/span><\/h3>\n

However, the WHO this week made a total U-turn in their recommendation and now says that they saw that wearing masks, even those that are home-made may help in reducing the spread of the disease. The change in approach was triggered by the growing evidence that some <\/span>people infected with the coronavirus do not show symptoms<\/span><\/a> and are able to make others sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lessons from South East Asia\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, wearing masks in public is so widely accepted that those who leave home nowadays without it risk looks or being told off. These countries have seen slower and lower rates of spread, as opposed to countries like Italy and Spain, where local communities do not have a culture of wearing masks, and did not wear them at the beginning of the outbreak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hong Kong example<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the first cases of COVID-19 outside China were reported there, and altogether the number of cases in the cramped 7.4 million city-state reached a mere 961 as of April 9. These numbers are considered remarkable, especially taking into account Hong Kong\u2019s proximity to mainland China, where COVID-19 began, its status as an international transport hub, and that the city-state has not gone into a <\/span>full lockdown<\/span><\/a>, unlike many other countries, up until today. But for Hong Kongers, wearing masks in public has been considered a norm and every citizen\u2019s responsibility since the deadly SARS epidemic of 2003.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWearing a mask is one of the measures to prevent respiratory tract infections. Protect yourselves and protect others by always keeping your hands clean and wear a mask as appropriate.\u201d – Hong Kong\u2019s Department of Health\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mask or not to mask?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Even though it is not mandatory to wear masks in Hong Kong, the majority of the population does. And now, other countries are following suit. India\u2019s Mumbai and New Delhi made wearing masks (even home-made, reusable ones) in public compulsory. Some <\/span>European countries<\/span><\/a> like Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina have already adopted the use of face-mask to curb the spread of the virus since mid-March.<\/span><\/p>\n

Countries such as Singapore or the United States that just a few weeks ago did not advise on wearing face masks in public, now urge their citizens to do so. In the UK, there are no official statements asking citizens to wear face masks in public as of now, however, as cases soared to over 60,000 in the country, it is not an unusual sight on the British streets anymore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any more questions?<\/span><\/h3>\n