In places where relatives care for the sick at home, the WHO also has recommended they wear a mask.
But "there is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any particular benefit," WHO's epidemics chief Dr Mike Ryan told reporters yesterday.
"In fact, there's some evidence to suggest the opposite," he added, noting risks from an improperly fitted mask or touching the face while taking it off or putting it on.
READ MORE:
• Covid 19 coronavirus: NZ case clusters double, seven more investigated
• Covid 19 coronavirus: UK and Spain record deadliest days
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Big Read: What you need to know about scary virus projections
• Covid 19 coronavirus: NZ case clusters double, seven more investigated
For months as the Covid-19 crisis grew and masks disappeared from store shelves, US health officials have agreed.
The virus is believed to spread mostly through droplets from coughs or sneezes rather than tinier particles that health workers can encounter, and thus the main advice has been to keep your distance — staying 2m away.
"Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS!" Surgeon-General Jerome Adams wrote in a February 29 tweet.
"They are not effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus but if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk."
But mask-wearing has long been common in some countries during respiratory outbreaks, especially in parts of Asia.
As questions grow about whether people sometimes can spread the virus before realising they're sick — which social distancing is supposed to address — increasingly people ask what it would hurt to wear some form of mask in public.
Dr Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the US National Institutes of Health, told CNN the White House coronavirus task force is looking into the idea but first must make sure that such a move wouldn't take away from the supply for health workers.
CNN medical expert Dr Sanjay Gupta said the idea involves homemade cloth masks rather than medical masks.
"The N95 masks that we wear in healthcare should not be worn by the general public," Dr James Philips, assistant professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University, told CNN.
He added that surgical masks or cloth masks are different.
"Those are designed to keep the droplets that may be infected from coming out of your own mouth and nose on to other people, thus, spreading the disease. It makes logical sense that if everyone, including those who may be spreading the virus, was wearing that mask as sort of a shield over their face to prevent droplets from getting out into the air, that it would limit the transmission of the virus," Philips said.
Fauci said: "But once we get in a situation where we have enough masks, I believe there will be some very serious consideration about more broadening this recommendation of using masks.
"We're not there yet, but I think we're close to coming to some determination."
For now, the advice posted on the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's website: "If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a face mask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a face mask)."
- AP
