CORONAVIRUS TRANSMISSION: SHOULD WE ALL WEAR FACE MASKS?

Several countries, such as the US, Austria and the Czech Republic, now recommend wearing face masks to stop the spread of COVID-19, but the UK government does not. Why don’t all governments agree?

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At the time of writing, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that, outside of health professionals, people should only wear masks if they display symptoms of COVID-19 or are taking care of someone who does. However, more and more countries now recommend that people wear face masks in public places, and WHO is reconsidering its advice based on new evidence.

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer and a specialist in epidemiology and pandemic preparedness, said in a briefing on 3 April: “…there is no evidence that general wearing of face masks by the public who are well affects the spread of the disease in our society. What matters right now, of course, is social distancing.”

CAN FACE MASKS STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19?

“The problem with the new coronavirus is that there’s too little information about exactly how it’s spread, because it’s so new,” says Dr Alexander Edwards, associate professor at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Reading. We don’t know if it’s spread more effectively through contact or coughs and sneezes, he adds.

It is not ethical to expose someone to COVID-19 to study the transmission. Instead, biologists have to make do with other methods. One study from MIT used high-speed cameras to track the droplets expelled in coughs and sneezes. They found that puffs of air carry droplets for up to six or eight metres, for coughs and sneezes respectively. Another study, conducted by aerosol specialist Dr Boris Gorbunov, found that taking wind conditions into account could bring the distance a cough travels up to 25 metres.