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.
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