Against the coronavirus epidemic, wearing a mask alone is not "the silver bullet", said the boss of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Monday, saying that their widespread use in the population was not justified only if other barrier measures are impossible or difficult to implement.
“There is no binary answer, no quick fix. Masks alone cannot stop the Covid19 pandemic, ”said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a virtual press conference from Geneva.
The French position, an aberration in China
Besides that their use should be reserved for health professionals in a context of shortage, it can be "justified" among the population if other measures such as hand washing and physical distance are limited by lack of water or high population density, he added. Since its onset in December in China, the Covid-19 pandemic has killed more than 70,000 people worldwide, including 50,000 in Europe. 1.25 million cases have been identified in total on the planet.
The debate over the wearing of masks is growing in many Western countries under pressure from a growing part of the population who do not understand why they would protect nurses but not ordinary citizens. Seen from Asia, where surgical masks are omnipresent, the delay in Western countries is an aberration. But health authorities in the United States or in France, as well as the WHO, argued until now that the mask was not necessary for healthy people, unless they were in contact with sick people.
The virus transmitted "between people by droplets"
Studies cited by the American Academies of Sciences seem to converge on the hypothesis of a possible transmission of the virus by air, between people who speak or breathe, and no longer only by the droplets and postillons projected during a sneeze or on surfaces. The WHO has recently raised this hypothesis but remains cautious.
Covid-19 "is first transmitted between people by droplets and close contact with sick people or contaminated surfaces," said WHO on Sunday, the droplets "being too large to be airborne for a long time." " President Donald Trump announced Friday night that Americans are now officially advised to cover their faces outside of their homes, to help curb contagion. The health authorities call on the population to cover their faces with handmade masks, scarves or bandanas, in order to reserve medical masks for caregivers.
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