China News Service, April 4 (Xinhua) The new coronary pneumonia epidemic continues to spread globally, and Europe and the United States have become "severely hit areas." For a long time, foreign health experts and many countries have always debated whether ordinary people should wear masks in public places. But in recent days, the attitude of all parties to "whether to wear a mask" has changed significantly.

On April 1, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated that cotton masks will be distributed throughout Japan, with a ratio of two per household. (Image source: Screenshots from Fuji TV Japan)

"One of the best ways to prevent infection is to wear a mask"

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, wearing masks has become a common choice for Asian people to prevent infection: Chiang Rai, Thailand requires all people entering Chiang Rai to wear masks; people in Luzon, Philippines, need to wear protective masks, handkerchiefs and other protective equipment; Japan Cotton masks will be distributed nationwide, two for each household ...

But in countries such as Europe and the United States, the wearing of masks has caused a lot of controversy-an Italian parliamentarian was mocked for wearing masks; a Swiss female parliamentarian was expelled for wearing masks on the grounds of "disrupting the meeting" "Order"; some ordinary people wear masks and go out, they will be cast with "different eyes" ...

However, with the spread of the epidemic, many people have begun to re-examine the role of masks.

On April 3, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revised its guidelines on wearing masks, saying that all Americans should wear non-medical masks when they go out in public to avoid spreading the new coronavirus. However, medical masks should still be reserved for medical personnel, and the recommendation to wear masks is not mandatory.

A few days ago, Eric Jasiti, the mayor of Los Angeles, California, has directly advised Los Angeles residents that public places need to wear masks or even use handkerchiefs to cover their faces.

The White House's response to the New Crown Special Team member and American epidemic prevention expert Fawcie also admitted, "If one does not want to be infected or infects others, one of the best ways is to use a mask."

Figure: Anthony Fawsi, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting

In addition to the United States, the German Federal Disease Control Agency Robert Koch Institute also changed its attitude on April 2, saying that wearing a mask can "effectively reduce the risk of contracting the virus through coughing, sneezing or talking", recommending "even if there is no new coronary pneumonia People with symptoms should also wear masks in public. "

Austrian Prime Minister Kurz issued a "mask injunction" at the end of March and said that from the experience of Asian countries, this has an important role in preventing the spread of the virus in the air, and the people must make adaptive changes.

In Italy and France, some teaching videos of homemade masks are also widely spread on social media ...

"Asymptomatic infected"

Just in early March, many European and American health experts and major media still held the view that "masks are useless". The CDC has previously stated that ordinary citizens do not need to wear masks unless they are sick or take care of sick people. What made them turn around their ideas in less than a month?

A number of foreign media analysis said that "asymptomatic virus infected people" may be the key factor for European and American experts to change their attitudes.

It is reported that "asymptomatic virus-infected people" may not have self-perceived clinical symptoms such as fever, cough, and sore throat, and there are no recognizable symptoms and signs, but the new coronavirus pathogen test for respiratory tract specimens is positive.

According to a report released by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on March 28, "there is new evidence that the asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission of the new coronavirus is possible." The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) also quoted a recently published study saying that people who are infected with the virus but do not show any symptoms, or have only mild symptoms are also contagious.

The BBC further stated that more and more experts believe that the use of masks by the public can prevent "asymptomatic infected persons" from spreading the virus to others without their knowledge.

Scott Gottlieb, former director of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), explained that the infected person wearing a mask can effectively prevent him from spreading his virus to others. In view of the existence of asymptomatic infected persons, the requirement to wear a mask may be a “good social responsibility insurance policy”.

On March 23 local time, a shopper walked out of a large supermarket in the center of Berlin wearing a mask. Photo by China Press Agency Peng Dawei

Two big problems to be solved

It should be noted that even though European and American countries are now vigorously promoting the benefits of wearing masks, at least two major problems of stereotypes and mask shortages must be solved if people are to wear masks.

Problem 1: "Wearing a mask is equal to being sick"

British media pointed out that the resistance to wearing masks is that the public is not vigilant about large infectious diseases. The last time a European and American country experienced such a serious public health event dates back to the influenza pandemic of 1918; the second is the concept of "wearing a mask is equal to being sick" in European and American cultures.

Unlike people in East Asia who are used to wearing masks during the pollen season and polluted weather, in the traditional concept of the European and American people, healthy people will not go out to wear masks, so fear, discrimination, and even harassment of mask wearers frequently occur phenomenon.

Therefore, how to let the public know the importance and benefits of wearing a mask in the short term is particularly important.

On March 23, local time, Pontiac, Michigan, USA, "Detroit Sewn" factory changed to produce medical masks.

Problem 2: Out of stock worldwide

As the epidemic worsens, many people may want to wear masks, but masks are out of stock worldwide.

In this regard, US President Trump stated that he hopes that Americans can "wear a scarf" instead of masks, so as to leave the masks to the frontline medical staff. Forsy also acknowledged that one of the major obstacles to the promotion of wearing masks in the United States at the moment is, "It must be ensured that the masks are not taken away from the medical staff ..."

However, the New York Times quoted estimates from the US Department of Health and Human Services that only one country in the United States would consume 3.5 billion masks in the fight against the new coronavirus. The ability of countries to raise medical supplies such as masks in the short term will be greatly tested.

The British "Financial Times" believes that in the future, more and more countries and regions will join the ranks of wearing masks.

As the global epidemic has not yet reached an inflection point and the critical shortage of medical resources in some countries, the change in the concept of masks highlights the need for reality. As a BBC reporter said, maybe you are relatively young and healthy, even if you are infected with the new coronavirus, you may not have any symptoms. But wearing masks can not only protect yourself, but also protect the passing old people, supermarket cashiers, bus drivers ... Mobilizing people to wear masks in public places and other measures will help countries to stop the spread of the epidemic as soon as possible. (Finish)