Coronavirus: World Health Organization issues new guidelines on who should wear masks and when?

Coronavirus: World Health Organization issues new guidelines on who should wear masks and when?

World Health Organization changed its guidelines on using face masks, advising that face masks should be worn in public to stop the spread of Coronavirus, which has over 6.7 million cases worldwide with a death toll that is nearing 400,000.

In its new guidelines amid Coronavirus, the World Health Organization has said, “Masks can be used either for protection of healthy persons (worn to protect oneself when in contact with an infected individual) or for source control (worn by an infected individual to prevent onward transmission).”

In a statement, WHO’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the body has updated its guidance keeping in mind evolving evidence. “World Health Organization has developed this guidance through a careful review of all available evidence, and extensive consultation with international experts and civil society groups,” Ghebreyesus said in the statement.

The World Health Organization said masks are not a replacement for physical distancing, hand hygiene and other public health measures.

“I cannot say this clearly enough: Masks alone will not protect you from Coronavirus. Masks are only a benefit as part of a comprehensive approach,” said Dr Ghebreyesus.

Masks can be used either for protection of healthy persons (worn to protect oneself when in contact with an infected individual) or for source control (worn by an infected individual to prevent onward transmission). However, the use of a mask alone is insufficient to provide an adequate level of protection or source control, and other personal and community level measures should also be adopted to suppress transmission of respiratory viruses, the World Health Organization said.

Also read: Face Sheild VS Face Mask: Which is more effective in keeping viruses away?

So what’s new?

In places with widespread transmission, World Health Organization has advised medical masks for all people working in clinical areas of a health facility, not only workers dealing with patients with Coronavirus. That means that when a doctor is doing a ward round on the cardiology or palliative care units where there are no confirmed Coronavirus patients, they should still wear a medical mask.

In areas with community transmission, people aged 60 years or over, or those with underlying conditions, are advised to wear a medical mask in situations where physical distancing is not possible.

World Health Organization has also updated its guidance on the use of masks by the general public in areas with community transmission. In light of evolving evidence, WHO has advised that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments.

What has not changed?

WHO continues to recommend that people who are sick with symptoms of Coronavirus should remain at home, and should consult their health care provider. People confirmed to have Coronavirus should be isolated and cared for in a health facility and their contacts should be quarantined.

If it is absolutely necessary for a sick person or a contact to leave the house, they should wear a medical mask.

World Health Organization continues to advise that people caring for an infected person at home should wear a medical mask while they are in the same room as the sick person.

Composition of masks

Based on new research, World Health Organization, among other things, advises that fabric masks should consist of at least three layers of different material. Details of these materials are available on its website (https://www.who.int/). It has also provided recommendations on how to wash and maintain a fabric mask and how to use masks in general safely.

Are there any disadvantages of encouraging the general public to wear masks?

World Health Organization mentions some potential harms and disadvantages of the use of face masks by healthy people in the general public. These include increased risk of self-contamination due to manipulation of a face mask, potential self-contamination if non-medical masks are not changed when soiled or wet, potential headache or breathing difficulties and a false sense of security, leading to potentially lower adherence to other critical preventive measures such as physical distancing and hand hygiene.

Correct use of masks:

• Perform hand hygiene before putting on the mask;

• Place the mask carefully, ensuring it covers the mouth and nose, adjust to the nose bridge, and tie it securely to minimize any gaps between the face and the mask;

• Avoid touching the mask while wearing it;

• Remove the mask using the appropriate technique: do not touch the front of the mask but untie it from behind.

• After removal or whenever a used mask is inadvertently touched, clean hands with an alcohol-based hand rub, or soap and water if hands are visibly dirty;

• Replace masks as soon as they become damp with a new clean, dry mask;

• Do not re-use single-use masks;

Use of Cloth Mask

It is critical to emphasize that maintaining 6-feet social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus. Center for Disease Control is additionally advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.

The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators.  Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current Center for Disease Control's guidance.