FACTSHEET: Shifting positions on face masks - ZimFact
Ngoni Mhuruyengwe
April 13, 2020
People wearing masks stand in a line to buy face masks at a drug store in Daegu, South Korea, March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Globally, positions on the use of face masks by the public to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus have shifted. Early on, the World Health Organisation and some governments, worried that a run on face masks would create a shortage for frontline health workers who needed them, discouraged the use of face masks by people who were neither infected or taking care of COVID-19 patients.
In its March guidance on face masks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised: “If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection.”
In subsequent guidance issued on April 6, the WHO said: Wearing a medical mask is one of the prevention measures that can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19. However, the use of a mask alone is insufficient to provide an adequate level of protection, and other measures should also be adopted.
In Zimbabwe, the government has largely adopted the WHO stance, although senior officials, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, are frequently seen wearing masks during public events.
Other governments, including the United States, discouraged the use of face masks by the public, arguing that hoarding of the masks would create shortages for health workers working to treat COVID-19 patients.
However, as the pandemic continues to spread, many governments are changing their positions on the matter.
Here is a list of some countries’ positions on the use of face masks:
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