in

Countries where public face mask wearing is advised have lower rates of coronavirus infections – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

Countries where public face mask wearing is advised have lower rates of coronavirus infections – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

Countries advising its people to wear face masks to stop the spread of coronavirus have had lower rates of infection, data shows.

While other measures will affect results such as testing and social distancing, it is clear that many Asian countries where face masks have been widely worn are suffering fewer cases of Covid – .

Hong Kong, Singapore , Japan and South Korea have all reported far fewer infections than countries in the West, despite being far closer to the source of the pandemic in China .

Countries advising its people to wear face masks to stop the spread of coronavirus have had lower rates of infection, data shows. Pictured: a man wears a face mask in Berlin today

The countries where the pandemic is most pronounced, in Italy, Spain, the US, France and the UK, face masks have not been advised by their respective governments.

These countries have reported both higher infections and higher death rates than the Asian countries where face masks have been widely worn.

The latest figures for the UK have shown that there are now 47, 823 confirmed cases of coronavirus with a death toll of 4, .

The situation in the US is much worse with reports of more than , (cases and 8, 311 fatalities.

But these numbers seem monumental in comparison to statistics from South Korea, Japan and Singapore where, with a combined population of Mill ion, only 485 deaths have been reported.

The three Asian countries combined have confirmed 19, 485 cases of the virus well below the numbers seen in the West.

The country set a grim global record on Saturday with the number of deaths from coronavirus leaping by 1, in just one day

Confirmed cases of COVID – 47 in the United States have increased by more than 182, 06 in the past three days

There has been much debate about the effectiveness of the masks ever since the outbreak of coronavirus.

The British Government has long held the view that the cheap paper masks offer little protection against catching the virus.

This is because they are thin, loose-fitting and porous – which make it easy for the tiny viral particles to pass through.

But experts have always maintained that, while the masks may not shield someone from contracting the illness, they stop the wearer from infecting others .

In countries including South Korea (pictured), the rate of infections and deaths is much lower

As well as on surfaces, the virus can be transmitted via droplets that are released when a patient talks, breathes, coughs or sneezes.

And experts say masks stop people from touching their face, which cuts the chance of viral microbes on their fingers entering the body through the mouth or nose.

This may have been more important than initially thought now that researchers know infected people are contagious for severa l days before they have symptoms.

Professor Ian Jones, a virologist from the University of Reading, said the mass-issuing of masks ‘should now be considered’ in the UK.

Warning that the crisis is spiralling rapidly, he told MailOnline: ‘Anything that reduces the rate of transmission will bring it under control sooner.’

It comes after President Donald Trump said on Friday that the Center for Disease Control was now recommending that Americans wear non-medical cloth masks.

‘So it’s voluntary, you don’t have to be doing it,’ the president said from the briefing room podium. ‘This is voluntary, I don’t think I’m going to be doing it.’

There has been much debate about the effectiveness of the masks ever since the outbreak of coronavirus

Minutes later, first lady Melania Trump dismissed that Americans should take mask-wearing seriously.

The World Health Organization is reconsidering its decision to tell healthy people not to wear face masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

A recent study found that coughs and sneezes can spread virus particles up to ft (8m) in a cloud around an infected patient.

Professor David Heymann, now an in-house expert at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the WHO was reopening its discussions about masks.

He said Officials could decide to advise people that masks are beneficial – but people would have to wear ones with a proper seal around the nose and wear them all the time.

Professor Heymann said: ‘There is right now a debate about the usefulness of masks because Hong Kong has provided some evidence that masks may be useful in protecting individuals from infection. It’s not clear yet whether or not that’s true.

‘But as the evidence becomes available, it seems there will be a debate trying to decide whether masks play a role at some point in the outbreak.’

George Gao, director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this week said the ‘big mistake’ in the US and Europe was that ‘people aren’t wearing masks’.

He told Science magazine: ‘This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role – you’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth.

‘Many people have asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infections . If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others. ‘

Read More

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

Dr Catherine Calderwood flouted own advice to make TWO trips to holiday home but still keeps her job – Daily Record, Dailyrecord.co.uk

Dr Catherine Calderwood flouted own advice to make TWO trips to holiday home but still keeps her job – Daily Record, Dailyrecord.co.uk

Oil Prices Could Crash Below $ 10 Despite Trump Tariff Hype, Crypto Coins News

Oil Prices Could Crash Below $ 10 Despite Trump Tariff Hype, Crypto Coins News