Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Wear masks in crowded places to combat coronavirus, World Health Organisation finally advises the public

Wear masks in crowded places to combat coronavirus, World Health Organisation finally advises the public

WHO recommends expanded use of face masks after five months of debate. Conclusion supports early adoption of protective equipment in Asian centres such as Hong Kong.

After more than five months of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organisation is advising the public to wear masks on public transport and in crowded areas.

The change was announced as the WHO issued a new set of detailed guidelines on the use of masks.

“In light of evolving evidence, WHO advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news conference on Friday.

The new guidelines said that vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with jobs that interacted with the public, such as social workers and cashiers, should wear masks.

Until April, WHO, the United Nations health agency, had been advising policymakers and the public that only coronavirus patients, health workers and carers should wear masks.

In guidelines issued in January and March, the WHO said that “a medical mask is not required for people who are not sick as there is no evidence of its usefulness in protecting them”.

It shifted its position on April 6, saying there was “limited evidence” showing that masks might offer protection to healthy individuals at mass gatherings. But it stopped short of generally advising healthy individuals to wear masks outside.

“The wider use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks,” the agency said in advice to policymakers on April 6.



WHO said it had updated its recommendations after considering scientific studies, the prevalence of pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmissions and the difficulties of social distancing.

The WHO ‘s new recommendations followed a study it financed, the results of which were published in the British medical journal The Lancet on Monday.

After reviewing 172 observational studies across 16 countries and six continents, and 44 relevant comparative studies, the researchers concluded that wearing face masks could help reduce the transmission of diseases caused by coronaviruses, including Covid-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle East respiratory syndrome.

“These data also suggest that wearing face masks protects people (both health care workers and the general public) against infection by these coronaviruses, and that eye protection could confer additional benefit,” said the researchers, led by Derek Chu of McMaster University in Canada.



There has been a divide between East and West over whether healthy people should wear masks in public.

In many Asian countries and cities, including mainland China and Hong Kong – which experienced Sars 17 years ago – , the public adopted the practice from the earliest days of the pandemic.

Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, has repeatedly said that wearing masks is an important public health measure to reduce transmission.

In Hong Kong, one of the cities with the lowest rates of infection, wearing face masks is not compulsory but many of its residents have done so on the advice of health experts.

Officials and health specialists in many Western countries only began to advise the public to wear masks in April.

Since then, a number of countries including Germany, Austria and some US states and cities, such as New York, have made it compulsory for people to wear masks in the public.

But there has also been resistance at the top, with US President Donald Trump sharing a tweet in late May arguing that the mandated use of face masks to control the spread of the coronavirus represented a “culture of silence, slavery and social death”.




Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
×