To be sure of complete protection, one should wear a medical mask, but these are in short supply and are quite rightly reserved for professionals at the sharp end of treating Covid-19. They may however protect other people from the wearer, if he or she is shedding bacteria. As a Euronews corona virus briefing puts it:
No matter where you are on planet Earth, people are increasingly covering their faces, whether that's with a medical mask, or simply a piece of cut cloth. It has been made compulsory in New York and similar schemes are being operated in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Both Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel have hinted that, as part of the easing of their countries' confinement measures, people will be advised to wear a mask in public.
Today, Germany announced it will make 10 million masks per week from August. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is asking the UK government to make covering your face while travelling in the capital compulsory. But so far, the British government doesn’t agree.
Even the advice from the World Health Organization isn’t terribly clear. It says that medical masks should be reserved for healthcare workers, not the general public. But it has suggested a more widespread use of masks will become the norm as the world adjusts to living with the novel coronavirus.
Detailed arguments are being made on both sides of the debate. To some, a face mask is a barrier: the coronavirus can be spread through coughing or sneezing, and so by covering your mouth and nose you are less likely to infect others. But others argue that most people won’t use them properly: the obvious example – which I’ve seen – is people pulling them down to have a smoke or a chat. Even touching them at all can make the masks utterly useless.
Frankly, there is both a lack of evidence and a lack of good advice. Donald Trump recently said that the US government would start recommending that people wear masks, but he personally would not be wearing one. The ongoing discussions about face masks are a reminder that, although sometimes decisions are not clear cut, they will still be made.
It looks increasingly likely that, when manufacturing capacity is fully up to speed, most of us will have to wear face masks. Governments might simply conclude that it's better to be cautious, every little could help, and maybe wearing them will make us all feel a bit safer.
Personally, I shall resist to the last what amounts to no more than virtue signalling, especially if it turns out that the government wants us to wear masks manufactured by a contributor to Conservative election funds.
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