Coronavirus: CDC, WHO have said masks can't protect people but one expert from China believes that's a mistake
A debate on whether healthy citizens should arm themselves with face masks or not has the internet buzzing after a top Chinese scientist pointed out that Americans and Europeans were making a mistake by not using them.
In the absence of clear evidence, experts are divided over whether face masks help shield people from infection. So far, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have dismissed claims of masks protecting ordinary people.
But according to George Gao, director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, masks can slow down the spread. "This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact," he told Science in an interview. When people speak, he explains, droplets come out of the mouth, which could potentially infect others.
Besides, masks can come in handy for those who are not aware of their infection, meaning those who have the virus and are not showing symptoms yet. A few studies have suggested that that people with no or mild symptoms could be driving the pandemic. If these people wear masks, Gao reasoned, they can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others.
Others attribute the drop in cases in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea to the widespread use of face masks.
The former FDA Commissioner, Dr Scott Gottlieb, also made the case for masks. "There are some studies that show up to a 50% reduction in your ability to spread the flu if you're infected if you're wearing a mask," he told Face the Nation.
Others agree. “It doesn’t make sense to imagine that … surgical masks are really important for health care workers but then not useful at all for the general public,” Benjamin Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, told Science.
Why do some experts think there is more to this than masks?
Some experts fear that when healthy people hoard masks, health care workers fighting on the frontlines could see a shortage. “Seriously people-STOP BUYING MASKS!” U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted on began a 29 February tweet.
According to the WHO and CDC, those showing COVID-19 symptoms and those caring for them should wear masks. "During a public health emergency, facemasks may be reserved for healthcare workers. You may need to improvise a facemask using a scarf or bandana," says the CDC on its website.
One health expert pointed out other factors may have helped Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan curb the disease spread, says the expert.
"Other factors limited spread in the "masks" category. Singapore & Hong Kong implemented strict quarantine & distancing measures. In Japan, cultural etiquette reduces physical contact (ie handshakes). South Korea tested widely & isolated mild cases to break transmission chains," Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University, tweeted.
She explained that surgical masks can reduce respiratory droplets spread by infected people, but it is less clear that they protect uninfected people.
What is worse, wearing masks carelessly could do more harm than good. "Also if people are not wearing masks correctly it can increase the risk of infection. I've seen way too many people pulling masks aside to eat or drink, touching them on the outside, reversing them, reusing them...these are all incorrect," she tweeted.
She, however, added that it was okay for healthy people to wear masks as long as frontline workers do not experience shortages. "Under no circumstances should we deprive these heroes of the protection they need when we need it most," she said.
Surgical masks are just a physical barrier that will protect you against "a visible splash or spray of fluid or large droplets," explains Raina MacIntyre, an infectious disease researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told NPR. But they fit loosely on the face around the edges, so they don't completely keep out germs.
Some experts have taken the middle ground. Mask is a part of the strategy to mitigate COVID19 and not a magic bullet, explained Dr Florian Krammer, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in a tweet. Comparing them to a car-belt seat, Krammer said, masks help, but they are not a guarantee you won't get infected.
But he said that masks could be used strategically. People who interact a lot with other people like supermarket personnel, hospital receptionists, security staff, police offers, and the like should wear them. These people have a high likelihood to get the virus and transmit it to many others, he recommended.
He added, "If you already have them, is good to wear them in places where you interact with other people inside: supermarkets, the pharmacy, hospitals/ERs, the subway. You don't need them outside And don't be hostile towards people who wear masks. These people protect YOU."