Should Masks be Part of Your COVID-19 Safety Essential Kit?

Wearing masks in outdoor spaces while walking, cycling or running, offers only negligible benefits, as the risks that such exposures cause are also very little. Mask wearing should thus be made optional.

Yes because science has been recommending time and again that masks are an indispensable part of COVID-19 safety essential kit. But the effectiveness of masks in each and every environment has not been proven scientifically. Hence, it is better to make decisions based on situational awareness.

The Lancet, published in a study that analyzed the effectiveness of masks from 172 such studies that were done mostly in health care settings. The results suggest that using masks alongside appropriate eye protection gear and practising social distancing, decreased the spread of COVID-19.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

‘Wearing masks in enclosed and crowded places where people have to interact closely, will be helpful. In open and well-ventilated spaces, masks may offer only negligible benefit.’
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A high degree of uncertainty has been expressed in the above findings. Some studies in that past have shown that wearing masks does prevent certain particles containing the virus from escaping people’s mouth, thus suggesting its potential to protect others, but its effectiveness in every environment is yet to be established.

A previous study published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, found that mandatory mask-wearing in Wuhan, China, and New York, U.S.A, did bring down the rate of infection. But, this study has been viewed with a lot of scepticism by researchers because according to them, the infections had already dropped in New York, well before masks were made mandatory.

When to Wear and When to Avoid Masks?

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A consensus is beginning to form regarding wearing masks. In open spaces such as parks, the risk of infection transmission is very little. Hence, wearing masks in such places offer only negligible benefits and should be optional.

On the other hand, when choices are limited, and interaction happens in enclosed spaces for a longer duration, such as in grocery stores, public transport, while getting a haircut or medical clinics, masks will definitely offer protective benefits.

Muge Cevik, physician and infectious disease specialist, who works at the St.Andrews in the U.K, pointed out that the six-foot rule applies in well-ventilated spaces and outdoors. In poorly ventilated spaces, even if people distance themselves, there might be an accumulation of aerosol particles containing the virus, which would put them at risk. The length of exposure might double the risk of infection and thus wearing masks in such settings would prove beneficial.

Fiddling with masks, like trying to pull it on and off especially when eating in restaurants, increases the risk of infection. Hence many restaurants have resorted to seating people outdoors thus allowing them to keep their masks off.

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Irrational practices like wearing a mask when driving or riding, but pulling it down to chat with groups of people should be avoided. Also the all or nothing rule should be avoided when it comes to wearing masks. Crowded spaces and close contact have a very high risk associated with it, when it comes to contracting the infection. It is advisable to wear masks rationally, when it is likely to benefit.

Source-Medindia