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AT A PRESS briefing last night, Dr Tony Holohan said he was struck by the number of people not wearing face masks while out shopping at the weekend.
“I did notice that the majority of people were not wearing masks, and it is our clear recommendation … that people in those settings should wear them,” he said.
The chief medical officer added that “I think we need to do better” when it came to following this advice.
What’s the current advice for the public on face masks?
Until mid-May, wearing face masks wasn’t formally part of the government’s advice on helping to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
In March and April, the public was advised that good hand hygiene and social distancing were essential steps in preventing Covid-19 transmission.
When it was introduced as new guidance, Dr Holohan said he was “concerned” the advice about face coverings could be “interpreted in a way by people that meant that maybe we don’t need to worry about washing our hands as much or, if we wear a face covering, we can we can disregard the requirement in terms of social distancing – that is not the case”.
“So this is an additional hygiene measure. It’s not a magic bullet for this disease, and that has to be understood,” Holohan said.
The current advice is that wearing a cloth face covering is recommended in situations where it is difficult to practice social distancing, for example, in shops or on busy public transport.
Wearing one may help prevent people who do not know they have the virus from spreading it to others. It does so by helping to reduce the spread of respiratory droplets from someone infected with Covid-19.
Alongside wearing a face covering, however, it is of vital importance you still follow the other public health guidance – washing your hands properly and often, covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when you cough or sneeze, not touching your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean and two-metre social distancing.
So it’s not mandatory?
No, it’s not.
It’s just – as Dr Holohan says – the strong guidance from public health officials.
Other countries, such as Germany, France and Spain made the wearing of face masks mandatory as they began to ease lockdown measures.
Passengers on public transport in England could face fines from next week if they don’t wear mandatory face coverings when travelling.
However, despite it not being compulsory here, the need for people to wear them in the recommended situations has been reiterated a number of times in recent weeks.
Health Minister Simon Harris has said he’s a “little bit concerned” about the uptake of mask-wearing among the public, and “for those of us who can wear one, we really should”.
This will include public transport and in shops as the country re-opens in the next few weeks. If you’re going to be in these kinds of spaces, the advice is clear – you should wear a face covering.
This afternoon, the Oireachtas Committee on Covid-19 heard how the guidance on wearing masks for over-60s would also be reviewed this week.
What’s the World Health Organization saying?
Just last week, the WHO changed its advice on face masks.
Up to the beginning of June, its advice had been for face masks to be worn by those who have symptoms and by those caring for them.
However, now it recommends that they should be worn by the all people in situations where social distancing is not possible to help to stop the spread of coronavirus.
It said there is a lack of “high quality scientific evidence” on the matter, but pointed out:
However, there are some settings in which it may not be possible to keep physical distancing and the use of a mask could be helpful to provide a barrier to limit the spread of potentially infectious droplets from someone who is infected. In addition, there is some evidence which suggests that some infected people without showing symptoms may be able to transmit the virus others.
For this reason, WHO advises that governments should encourage the use of non-medical fabric masks, which can act as a barrier to prevent the spread of the virus from the wearer to others where there are many cases of Covid-19, for people in the general public where physical distancing of at least 1 metre is not possible – such as, on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments.
Similarly to Dr Holohan here, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that face masks alone “will not protect you from Covid-19″ and that it must be combined with other measures such as good hand hygiene and social distancing.
How do you wear a face mask properly then?
The HSE has made a video showing how to safely wear a face covering. It’s important to emphasise, if you don’t wear the face covering correctly it’ll offer little to no protection for you or others.
Here’s what the advice says: “Cloth face coverings are made from materials such as cotton, silk, or linen.
“You can buy them or make them at home using items such as scarfs, t-shirts, sweatshirts, or towels.
“A cloth face covering should cover the nose and go under the chin and:
It also has some advice here on how to make a face covering.
There are also a list of dos and don’ts when it comes to face masks, which you can see below.
Do:
Don’t:
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I did my shopping in Tesco the other day, felt like a bandit in my mask, I noticed only one other bandit in the store!
@Frainc Ó Broin: im going to the bank next week and I will be wearing my mask.
god bless me
@LD: moaned at if you don’t wear it in Tesco, moaned at if you wear it into a bank.
@LD:
Some money racket going on here with the face masks
The face mask issue has been handled badly. Holohan has given so many mixed messages on this. He wasn’t for them before, but now is “surprised” to see people without them.
I understand his initial thinking- that if people wore masks they would think that that was all they had to do, and not wash hands and social distance etc. But they should have included masks in their Health Info alongside the 2M and washing hands advice to make sure people associate mask wearing with all the other precautions. It’s a bit late now.
I wear one indoors and on public transport at all times and will continue to do so.
@a: Yes. Poor mixed advice on this one. I wear a mask in supermarkets, but I can completely understand why others don’t. At the beginning of this TH and co were telling us not to.
@a: You took the words right out of my mouth.Confusion and mixed messaging from day one on this topic..Professor Luke O Neill has expressed his frustration several times on the reluctance to address this properly.
@a: 23% vat rate on masks.. if they make them compulsory they might have to make them a 0 vat product
Vast majority of people are not wearing them and they should be made compulsory to stop the spread of this deadly virus, now that it is on the ropes.
@GO GREEN: Is that because of all the mixed messages so far by Tony? It’s a hard sell now to make them compulsory.
Big push on today 3 stories on masks, It’s not going to happen
@Logan Shepherd: Maybe seems strange that so many people will not wear a mask and look at people who do wear them like they were aliens from another planet.
@GO GREEN: Part of the problem is that people should have been told this since March. As above, it’s a hard sell now when numbers are falling and the ‘we’re back’ vibe is about.
@GO GREEN: I don’t know why they do that. I guess it’s something different, people aren’t used to it. Personal responsibility will be one of the main drivers of control now imo.
@Dave Nomates: Generally throughout this, when you see something get so many headlines, it means some change to the guidelines. I get that you don’t want to wear a mask, but if other people do, it doesn’t really affect you, does it?
@Alan McArdle: we’re back unless there’s a surge, then it could be lockdown again. If people understood that the masks might help suppress a second wave and let us stay out and about, maybe they’d be more inclined to wear them. If they make it mandatory in shops/public transport , most people will wear them
@GO GREEN:
Nonsense they are filthy
@Alan McArdle:
We don’t need masks we are Irish not Asian we have clean fresh air in this country
Some people must be making a fortune promoting the mask companies
Some people can be so stupid
@ciaran carroll: It has nothing to do with the air quality. But if that needs explaining to you, then you’re a lost cause.
@P Mc G:
Feel free to breathe in your own carbon dioxide if you wish I certainly won’t through a face mask it’s biologically proven
@GO GREEN: if you want to wear your gimp mask off ya go but dobt force everyone else to wear one. My right to breath fresh air dosent stop where your foolish paranoia begins. Ok?
When the CMO says “don’t wear a mask” apparently to save the availability of masks for front line workers… and then says “do wear the mask” a while later… it kind of loses its authenticity. You need to give advice based on facts and scientific evidence.. not based on convenience or availability.
Your article is misleading in relarion to the WHO advice on wearing masks. The advice from WHO is targeted to areas were virus is WIDESPREAD. In ireland the virus is at a very low level and getting lower according to Dr Philip Nolan, and “beaten off the streets”. I would add this has occured without the use of facemaskes in the community. The unnecessary use of them will instill fear and panic in people.
@Robaird O Raighne: Agree. Mental health is been accelerated by fear, control and dramatic measures. 2 metre social distance needs to be reduced.
@Robaird O Raighne: How do you know that the curve could have been flattened quicker had masks been made compulsory? How do you know a second wave can be prevented by wearing masks? Masks help! the science is there!
@Robaird O Raighne: Fear and panic – GUFFAW! I’ll clear this up for you – If you think your right to not wear a mask is more important than your responsibility to protect the lives of the elderly and people with poor health, then go right ahead, and don’t wear a mask. Talk about ignorance.
@Fin: nothing ignorant in my comment buddy, i am quoting the factual recommendation from WHO which proponents of mask wearing are conveniently leaving out, and Dr Nolans actual comment. I keep my distance from everyone when im out and use sanitiser constantly. There are no reports of this virus being passed to shop staff by customers over the past 12 weeks when most were not wearing masks and the virus was at much higher levels. Its nearly gone now. Perhaps you need to get a little perspective buddy.
It’d be great to buy a face mask.
I’ve tried and resorted to ordering off a well known pharmacy company but the masks won’t be here until the 24th of June.
I’m guessing I’m to go without food until then?
@Madra: lidl has masks
@Madra: there are 100s of online video instructions on how to make home made masks too
@Madra: I also saw them in Dunnes
@Madra: loads in our local Euro Giant
@Madra: Dunnes Rathmines has them, 20 masks for €15.
@Madra: boots have them for sale on their website, as do other pharmacies
@Madra: dunnes stores & Lidl sell packs of surgical masks and most chemists now sell them in boxes of 50 or smaller quantities as well . Even my local corner shop sells them now.
@Madra: Deals are selling masks , no excuses.
@LD: they were below the p3 grade
@Louise Tracey: also below minimum guideline in requirements
@Christybhoy67: also below the recommended guideline and not worth much more than tissue paper on your face
@Madra: I ordered 6 washable ones from amazon.co.uk about 10 days ago. They arrived 5 days later. With postage it worked out 3 Euro each.
Why are staff in shops not wearing them? I’ve been in 3 shops over the weekend and no staff had masks on.
@Ross Dunne: because they are not compulsory
He said we should wear them where social distancing can’t be done. Why then are we queuing up outside retailers when the whole point of queuing was so that social distancing is enforced and makes the point of wearing a mask no difference. Doesn’t make any sense. Plus some scientists are saying it’s bad to wear one and some say we should.
I won’t be wearing one
@ciaran carroll: me neither
Holohan needs to be dragged off the stage. His public profile has gone to his head. He’s acting like he’s in charge. The latest proclamation from him is p|$$ing on Croke Parks plan to open up
Doctors virologists etc advise do not wear face masks dangerous set off own body viruses
@Patricia Moloney: The WHO advises wearing them!!!!
@Patricia Moloney: please post a link to the information
@Mairead Jenkins: just cos they advise wearing them doesn’t mean they are correct. They are other people saying don’t wear them. I think if you want to wear them then do if if you think it’s not a good idea then don’t. We should as adults be able to decide ourselves.
@paul mccoy: Paul, I think people who think they have to right to ignore other people’s rights should be held accountable for the deaths that they cause through willful ignorance. Rights come with responsibilities. Check out the definition of Citizen in the Irish law dictionary.
@Mairead Jenkins: in places where the virus is widespread.
@Patricia Moloney: “own body viruses”?
How many infections do you carry around with you?
Omg .. brain dead governance sheeple .. the non thinkers and there masks .. do you not realise your making yourself sick by wearing these masks .. or do you just believe everything your trust worthless governance tells you
@james r: I strangely have an aversion to taking advice from people who can’t differentiate between there and their, yet purport themselves to be experts on a wide range of conspiracy theories and general wokeness.
@james r: Look at other countries the infection rate has gone down when people wear masks. Of course they must be used properly, washed etc
@james r: Enlighten us. How does one get sick from wearing a mask? You need to share your wisdom. Why hasn’t this information been shared before!?
There’s thousands of carpenters, construction workers and medical professionals at risk! They’ve been wearing masks for years! Maybe they’re just extremely lucky they haven’t dropped dead yet! Exclamation point!
@Q8K9dOAu: not to mention not knowing that “you are” is contracted to “you’re”.
@David Stapleton: I noticed that too, but didn’t want to extend the social trouncing beyond a reasonable amount of characters.
@james r: I love a good conspiracy theory … please explain how masks are making people sick?
@Ajax Penumbra:
Because you breathe in your own carbon dioxide that’s why they make you sick simple biology
Carpenters wear them to stop inhaling harmful dust when working or sanding that’s entirely different
@james r:
Totally agree
Some money racket going on here!!
@GO GREEN:
Sure the infection rate is gone down here too and nobody is wearing them save for the brainwashed few
@ciaran carroll: the real conspiracy theory is that a gag will save your life apparently
@Sarah Clifford: It’s not for saving your life, top tip; read more news.
@ciaran carroll: “that’s totally different” How exactly?
Are those carpenter masks magical in how they allow the CO2 to escape but the same mask being used for health reasons traps the CO2?
It seems like Tony isn’t exactly the silver bullet after all..in fairness it was He who countered the actions taken by Nursing Homes very early on in the crisis only to U turn on it a week later and his mixed messaging on the masks issue has been shocking.
How about wearing a space suit locking yourself inside and don’t go outside in case you all catch something
You could catch a bit of fresh air you know the human body has been catching it since it was created
@ciaran carroll: Funny how the Covid-19 infection rate has gone down while 5G usage has gone up……..almost as if there is no correlation……………
Now we know why there was so many face mask filters on Snapchat and Instagram last few years….pre programming.
People are more than likely not wearing face masks purely because there’s none available or because greedy business owners, pharmacies etc who do have masks for sale are charging up to €10 per mask that are not reusable & Not accessible to the vulnerable who need them the most. The HSE Should provide masks & Gloves to Our vulnerable, The elderly, The Ill , those with compromised immunity & Those whom have no choice but to carry on regardless because they have no one to do their shopping etc for them, pay their bills & those whose welfare payments weren’t increased during this pandemic, or profiting from whilst having higher household bills during lockdown, & going without basics just to survive.
We’re entering a golden age of street crime possibilities. ….
I know many people won’t want to hear it, but I am going to say it anyway….
People that have been or are now unsure if the should wear a mask/facecovering when shopping or interacting with people outside their own domestic setting and are waiting for government advice or guidance before doing so, need to grow the hell up and make the decision to do so now for themselves.
The only objections that have been made to wearing them apart from those a genuine respiratory or other phobia or conditions, jas been the moronic drivel from people online talking about “breathing your own viruses, sneezes and carbon dioxide” ( it pains me to even repeat this shite) as if your respiratory tract is some kind of single direction aircon system, rather than a living active organic environment…
@David Van-Standen:
Did you ever learn biology?
The body inhales oxygen and exhaled carbon not the other way around
Il bet it’s the people who are wearing masks that will get sick not the people who won’t wear them
@ciaran carroll: yes I have learnt biology and also worn ppe including respirators for decades as have many others working in various industries.
Our respiratory tract contains viruses and bacteria all the time, nothing in a mask or face covering is going to capture carbon dioxide so you end up rebreathing it, unless you put a plastic bag over your head….
@David Van-Standen:
Incorrect as if it captures a sneeze it captures carbon dioxide
@ciaran carroll:
The reason for wearing a mask in relation to sneezing or coughing is not to contain them, but to interrupt them, the velocity of a cough or sneeze can negate even appropriate social distancing that is sufficient for normal breathing and talking, because it is expelled under force.
The interruption caused by wearing a mask cuts that velocity down to near the level of normal breathing, normal breathing either inhaling or exhaling passes through the mask, with the mask acting as filter, air passes through inhaling as does carbon dioxide exhaling…
Logically if any mask prevented carbon dioxide from passing through it, it would also prevent air passing through it, resulting in asphyxiation…. is it really that difficult to grasp?
@ciaran carroll: the fabric catches the sneeze because it droplets.
The CO2 is a gas, it leaks out the side of those surgical masks.
NPHET are clowns
Any update on dog masks yet??
There was a very interesting study done recently with mice and the effectiveness of face masks. Over 1 week scientists placed a mask between the cage of an infected mouse and the cage of uninfected mice (with a fan blowing air from the infected mouse to uninfected mice). They then carried out the same test without a mask separating the 2 cages. The rate of infection jumped when the mask was removed.
Stop scaremongering and advise people to take Vitamin C & D as enough of C and D will boost your emuine system.These masks do not stop droplets from entering if someone coughed or sneezed around you.
@Salvatore: That’s not their role.
This misunderstanding is exactly the point of the article. The mask isn’t to stop YOU catching it, but for the mask to prevent spread caused by sneezes and coughs.
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