Since the coronavirus outbreak started back in 2019, advice around wearing a face mask has varied widely around the world.
The World Health Organisation has maintained that wearing a face mask is not effective unless you have the disease, but despite this, several countries have encouraged the public to wear a mask while out and about.
Now, one expert has claimed that we should think about coronavirus face masks like we do condoms for STIs.
David O’Connor, a viral diseases researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained: “If a substantial amount of transmission occurs before people feel sick, how do you stop that?
“By the time people feel sick and seek care, all the testing and isolation in the world would be too little, too late.
“HIV is also spread while people feel fine and consistent, correct condom use is a barrier to sexual virus transmission that works.
“Face masks are a barrier method that might also need to be worn consistently and correctly to prevent transmission of this virus.”
Mr O’Connor’s remarks come shortly after 100 leading doctors signed a letter saying they are ‘increasingly alarmed at official inaction over the need for the public to wear face masks.’
The doctors are backing the Masks4All campaign, which calls for homemade masks to be worn by the public to stop the spread of the virus.
In a letter to The Times, the doctors wrote: “Official UK policy is illogical. It says wear a mask to reduce the spread of infection if you become symptomatic, but what about asymptomatic spread?
“The latest guidance on PPE says that people should wear masks in hospital waiting rooms ‘to reduce both direct transmission and environmental contamination.’ Why not elsewhere?”
The letter has been signed by several leading doctors, including John Ashton, a former president of the Faculty of Public Health, and Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Thursday discussions about face masks were very much in the forefront.
He added: “What we are really trying to do is to work out under what circumstances, if any, should we extend the advice.”
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