President Donald Trump announced on Friday April 3 that health officials are now advising Americans to cover their faces when they leave home to limit the spread of coronavirus in the United States. This decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national health authority in the United States, is "only a recommendation," said Donald Trump during a press briefing. "It's (initiative) voluntary," he insisted.

"Personally, I will not wear one," he continued. "Sitting in the Oval Office (…) Wearing a mask while receiving presidents, Prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know, I don't feel it for myself", he added said.

The CDC insists in particular on the need to cover your face while shopping, when the recommendations for social distancing are more difficult to comply with. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced similar recommendations for residents of his city on Thursday.

Speech and song are vectors

The CDC has published a study highlighting cases of transmission of the virus in Singapore by asymptomatic people. "Speech and other vocal activities, such as singing, have been shown to generate particles in the air, with a propensity related to the noise level, "explain the authors of the study, published Wednesday.

This is a reversal for the authorities, who have long indicated, on the basis of the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC, that it was not necessary to wear a mask, unless have symptoms of coronavirus.

The WHO rightly said Friday that surgical masks should be reserved for health workers but it paved the way for increased use of masks, even handcrafted, by the general public.

Above all, "barrier gestures"

"We need to keep medical and surgical masks for frontline workers. But the idea of ​​using masks covering the airways or mouth to prevent coughing or sniffling from spreading the disease to the environment and to others (...) is not a bad idea in itself, "said Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO emergency expert, at a press conference.

In France, the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, estimated for his part that "the notion of access by the general public to a general public or alternative mask can be encouraged", while stressing that these masks do not do not replace the "barrier gestures" of frequent hand washing and social distancing.

A position shared by Mike Ryan at the WHO, who acknowledged the existence of a "very important and healthy" debate on the generalization of the wearing of masks. "There may be circumstances in which the use of masks, whether homemade or made of fabric, on a community scale, can participate in the global and complete response to this disease ", he said.

With AFP and Reuters

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