Face masks

When nose and mouth coverings were in short supply at the start of the covid-19 epidemic in the UK, the scientists who warned that they gave minimal protection to the wearer, but helped to reduce the chances of wearers' passing on the infection themselves, were given much publicity. Now, as supplies become more plentiful, we are urged by the media including social media to wear masks in public at all times. Indeed, this was the direction taken in England last month by authorities who needed a public display of an initiative in the face of morbidity figures which were coming down too slowly.

Now comes further evidence that any covering short of self-contained respiration is no guarantee of protection from corona viruses.
The WHO says SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, spreads primarily through small droplets expelled from the nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sink to the ground. But in an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, published on Monday in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined evidence that they say shows floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in. Because those smaller particles can linger in the air, the scientists are urging WHO to update its guidance. "We are aware of the article and are reviewing its contents with our technical experts," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Monday in an email. How frequently the coronavirus can spread by the airborne or aerosol route - as opposed to by larger droplets in coughs and sneezes - is not clear.

So it seems that the original advice is still valid. Having suffered from asthma from childhood, I genuinely do have difficulty with anything that restricts my breathing. However, if the public wearing of face masks is mandated in Wales as it is in England, I am not one to brazenly bare my face in populated spaces as some irresponsible people threaten to do. I shall merely isolate myself even further. Let us hope that it does not come to that and that the measures taken so far in Wales are sufficient.