WHO reverses course, now advises people wear face masks to fight coronavirus spread

The World Health Organization, which had resisted calls to advise people to wear cloth face masks in public, now says the masks have a role to play in fighting the spread of coronavirus.

The global agency changed its position on face masks “in light of evolving evidence,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.

Several nations, including the United States, also initially advised most people against wearing cloth face masks in public but then endorsed the practice as coronavirus infections grew, Vox reported.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began advising people to wear cloth face masks in public in early April. Some cities and states have made them mandatory.

On Friday, Tedros said WHO now advises that people in health-care settings and those over 60 or with underlying conditions should wear face masks.

The general public should wear face masks in places where physical distancing is difficult, such as mass transit or stores, Tedros said.

“Masks on their own will not protect you from COVID-19,” Tedros said, emphasizing WHO suggests them only as part of a comprehensive fight against coronavirus, including testing, social distancing and hand-washing.

“The cornerstone of the response in every country must be to find, isolate, test and care for every case, and to trace and quarantine every contact,” Tedros said. “That is what we know works.”

The agency also warned that improperly using face masks can increase your risk of catching or spreading coronavirus.

“People can potentially infect themselves if they use contaminated hands to adjust a mask, or to repeatedly take it off and put it on, without cleaning hands in between,” Tedros said.

“Masks can also create a false sense of security, leading people to neglect measures such as hand hygiene and physical distancing,” he warned.

More than 6.9 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 400,000 deaths as of June 7, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.9 million confirmed cases with more than 109,000 deaths.

WHO has declared coronavirus a global pandemic. In the United States, President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency.

This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 11:01 AM with the headline "WHO reverses course, now advises people wear face masks to fight coronavirus spread."