Coronavirus: WHO Changes Its Advice On Face Masks

The World Health Organization (WHO) has changed its advice on face masks, saying they should be worn in public to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

“We have evidence now that if this is done properly it can provide a barrier for potentially infectious droplets,” Dr Maria Van Kerkhove told Reuters.

“And we specify a fabric mask – that is, a non-medical mask,” she added.

The WHO had previously said there was not enough evidence to say that healthy people should wear masks.

The organisation had always advised that medical face masks should be worn by people who are sick and those caring for them.

Globally, there have been 6.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 400,000 deaths since the outbreak began late last year, according to the data compiled by America’s Johns Hopkins University.

What is WHO’s advice?

The organisation said its new guidance had been prompted by studies over recent weeks.

“We have new research findings,” said Dr. Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead expert on COVID-19.

“We are advising governments to encourage that the general public wears a mask.”

At the same time, the WHO stressed that face masks were just one of a range of tools that could be used to reduce the risk of transmission – and that they should not give people a false sense of protection.

“Masks on their own will not protect you from Covid-19,” said the WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Global Coronavirus death toll passes 400,000

The number of people confirmed to have died of coronavirus globally has passed 400,000 according to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard.

Data from the website also show that worldwide infections have reached 6,910,014, while the number of people who have recovered stands at 3,094,075.

The US is the worst-hit country by the pandemic with over 1,920,061 confirmed cases and over 109,802 fatalities.

Brazil, which has the largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Latin America, is the second country with the highest number of cases with 672,846, followed by Russia with 467,073 and UK with 286,294.

China, ground zero of the virus, has registered more than 84,186 cases and 79,424 recoveries.

The country’s death toll stands at 4,638.

Overall, the virus has spread to 188 countries since it first emerged in China in December 2019.

Despite the rising number of cases, most persons who contract the virus suffer mild symptoms before making a recovery.