to wear masks or not to wear a mask that
seems to be a crucial question as we
think about a post lockdown coronavirus
world but the advice appears somewhat
confusing do not recommend the general
public where is mass Task Force
recommends wearing cloth face coverings
in public public settings this is
voluntary I don't think I'm gonna be
doing it we know that our frontline
doctors nurses and care workers need
them as part of protective equipment to
keep them safe and to stop the virus
spreading but what about the general
public in this video we're going to see
how effective masks are and whether
they're crucial to our future now let's
start with this the issue is not
clear-cut or simple and yet some think
it is look at this image that did the
rounds on the Internet it shows the
number of covert 19 cases in various
country and it suggests that those
nations where people wear masks in
public have managed to control the virus
better now that's a completely flawed
reading of the graph it's a gross
oversimplification of course those mask
wearing countries as they've been
highlighted have all sorts of other
measures in place to help control
experts generally agree that a package
of measures are the key to suppressing
the spread of cope in 1908 work alone
nor does social distancing alone nor
just washing your hands and remember
that graph points out Japan which is
actually struggling with the corona
virus outbreak Japan is the latest
country to declare a state of emergency
their government was posting masks to
the people only a few weeks ago so even
though Japan saw the public wear a mask
on mass it appears to not have helped
indeed you ultimately can't just take
one particular measure amongst many and
say that's the key one when you have
multi-faceted strategies ie D many
different things are happening
simultaneously you can't touch the
unpacks at take a recent study published
in The Lancet that looked at Hong Kong
during coronavirus while the authors
argue that face Mars for the public
should actively be encouraged they added
that they could not identify which
measure was potentially the most
effective in suppressing the virus be it
face mask border restrictions or testing
and Tracy there hasn't been enough
research done on face masks to give us a
conclusive answer now on whether they
would help or not so why is there no
clear evidence to show masks work well
firstly it's very difficult to do
randomized controlled trial on face
masks wearing in the wider public
because of the huge number of variables
involved I can test a proper surgical
mask in a laboratory with doctors and
nurses because I can control the setting
and the people using the master know
exactly how to use them but take that to
the wider community and our whole range
of issues enter the fray what type of
mask are all those different people
wearing how often are they wearing it
are they putting it on right
has it been washed properly it's very
haphazard it's very random it's very
difficult thing so many games the middle
of a pandemic does that mean people
behave more scrupulously or less
scrupulous Lee we don't know that will
makes it very difficult to do a
controlled experiment with clear results
and even those in favor of masks for the
public admit we may never get a
definitive test you can't say to a
hundred cities nobody in your cities
were allowed to use masks and then say
to another hundred cities everybody in
your cities are allowed to use masks
during a pandemic to do so would be
highly unethical secondly Cova 19 is a
very new virus and we're still not 100%
sure about how its transmitted for
example the virus could spread through
large respiratory droplets when you
sneeze or your cough or they could pass
through small respiratory droplets like
what you admit when you speak what is
infectious is it the larger droplets or
is it the smaller aerosol droplets this
is a new virus and we actually don't
know the answers to any of those
questions we actually need to bring
together the science of materials at the
science of dynamics and we need to bring
together
behavioral science there's not one bit
of science that has the answer to this
so there's no definitive evidence for
the use of face masks being worn by the
general public but there are other
concerns about the consequences of
asking the public to wear face coverings
firstly there shortages we've all heard
stories from the UK and elsewhere about
the lack of protective personal
equipment for health care workers on the
frontline the worry is that that
shortage could be exacerbated if you
tell the public to wear masks you need
them at every supermarket a ready supply
of high-quality surgical masks and so on
showing you adequate mam properly and
this would be a big big big undertaking
for uncertain benefits
when in excess and and particularly
social care and other places are
struggling to get the equipment they
need and the concern is that face masks
will stop people doing what they've
already been practicing the idea is that
telling people to wear a face mask will
give people a false sense of security
and it might even make those people who
should be staying at home venture out
into public that people would use it as
an excuse not to socially distance not
to stay at home on their own following
on as countries start issuing guidance
and face masks for the public there's a
difference in what they're saying should
be warned Spain has seen police handouts
surgical masks on public transport yet
in the United States the advice is that
even a scarf or a homemade covering will
be sufficient some countries are making
face masks mandatory in public others
are saying its advisory that can also
send out a mixed message it sends out
message or maybe they mattered maybe
they don't know no it really really
really matters that we interrupt
transmission of this virus it really
matters and I do think half-hearted
attendants don't send out a good message
I think they send out a lack of clarity
and they send out and well it might
matter it might not know this really
matters despite the lack of any
clear-cut evidence many countries are
now encouraging people to wear face
masks in public even Gloria Estefan's
getting in on it
[Music]
so let's start with the argument from
the CDC in the United States they point
out that recent studies show a
significant proportion of people with
coronavirus lack symptoms and can
transmit the virus and that even those
who do eventually develop symptoms can
spread the virus before they show any
signs of having it this means that the
virus can spread between people
interacting in close proximity
for example coughing speaking or
sneezing even if those people were not
exhibiting symptoms in light of this new
evidence CDC recommends in the Task
Force recommends wearing cloth face
coverings in public public settings
where other social distancing measures
are difficult to maintain and remember
that means the mask is there mainly to
stop you from infecting someone else
rather than to protect you from being
infected but that will only work if
everyone on a bus or a train is wearing
a mask if some aren't and potentially
have the virus then it can still be
spread that's why some proponents of
Mars say it should be mandatory well it
means it helps everybody if everybody
wears one so if you go out you know on
the train and the other passengers on
the train or some of them are not
wearing a mask but you are and some of
them are infected and they're talking
and droplets are coming out of their
mouth they absolutely kind of infect you
where else if all the other passengers
are wearing a mask it's pretty unlikely
they're going to affect you The Lancet
report into Hong Kong argued that they
could be particularly effective in dense
cities when Mars wearing is widespread
we have a very busy city a lot of people
mixing every day on public transport in
offices there's a lot of crowded areas
and everybody in Hong Kong is wearing
masks we have 99% mask usage and I think
that contributes and those in favor of
public face masks counter the argument
that people may stop practicing other
social distancing measures by asking
well what's the evidence for that the
argument that if we introduced face
coverings that people will stop washing
their hands that they will start going
out and partying and doing all sorts of
things that currently they're not doing
III don't even is any evidence with that
and again these proponents do understand
that masks are not a simple solution and
that they should be added to with other
measures
we have seen numerous countries around
the world change their guidance on face
masks in public in most majority the
transmission departure Hetty Polly mask
le probable who sits on the transport
public service all the cellular Dossett
aid mechanic mo s effort is what
obligate wha poor little is a deport a
massacre go public this does not show
model thinking more that new evidence is
coming out being assessed for countries
and making their own decisions and
they're all not issuing guidance on face
masks alone but alongside other measures
there are no clear-cut answers to how
useful face masks are for the wider
public
we are not like health care workers who
are exposed to the virus 24/7 and that's
where the guidance is clear they need
masters along with other PPE we may
never get definitive answers on public
face masks due to the variables involved
that make a randomized control trial
really difficult as more countries
change their guidance we may get a
larger pool of evidence from across the
globe to make our thinking a little
clearer but the common theme will always
be that face masks for the public are
but one measure among many it alone is
not the solution
you