Wearing masks and gloves as a precaution against coronavirusis ineffective, unnecessary for the vast majority of people, and may evenspread infections faster, experts said Tuesday.
While near-total lockdowns have been imposed in Italy, Spainand now France, the World Health Organization’s advice has remained unchangedsince the start of the global outbreak: wash your hands, don’t touch your face,and keep your distance.
The WHO says it is advisable to wear a protective mask inpublic if you suspect you are infected or someone you are caring for is, inwhich case the advice is to stay home whenever possible.
“There are limits to how a mask can protect you frombeing infected and we’ve said the most important thing everyone can do is washyour hands, keep your hands away from your face, observe very precisehygiene,” said WHO’s emergencies director Mike Ryan.
The advice is all the more urgent given the WHO’s estimatethat health workers worldwide will need at least 89 million masks every monthto treat COVID-19 cases.
There are already shortages of masks for medicalprofessionals around the world, a problem that could get worse as the pandemicdrags on.
But the message about masks hasn’t reached everyone.
“I’m surprised to see through the window in my ministrylots of people in the street wearing masks when that doesn’t correspond to ourrecommendations,” French health minister Olivier Veran said Monday.
Mariam, 35, told AFP that she was wearing a mask because shehas an elderly mother.
“Just in case,” said Mariam, who was also sportinglatex gloves.
Mariam, who didn’t want to give her last name, she said shegot her mask from “a friend’s mother who works in a hospital”.
As well as hoovering up stocks sorely needed by medicalprofessionals, experts say masks can give people who wear them a false sense ofsecurity.
For example, many people who wear them don’t follow theofficial advice of washing their hands thoroughly first, ensuring it’s airtight and not to touch it once it’s on.
“People are always readjusting their masks and that hasthe potential to contaminate them,” said France’s head of health, JeromeSalomon.
“If someone has come across the virus, it’s surelygoing to be on the mask.”
Gloves, similarly, don’t greatly heighten protection andcould even end up making you sick.
“If people cannot stop touching their face, gloves willnot serve a purpose,” Amesh Adalja, from Johns Hopkins Center for HealthSecurity, told AFP.
One 2015 study in the American Journal of Infection controlfound that people touch their face on average 20 times an hour.
The novel coronavirus is transmitted via skin contact,transferring infected globules of mucus via the ears, eyes or nose.
“Gloves are not a substitute for washing yourhands,” said Adalja, adding that surgical gloves should only be used in amedical setting.
Plus, said Veran: “If you’re wearing gloves you’re notwashing your hands.” For one Paris resident, Oriane, 32, this is not aproblem.
“I wash my gloves,” she said, gesturing to herbright blue surgical mitts.