The UK’s health minister Helen Whately has said that the use of face masks in public is not “recommended” and what it is important, is “handwashing.”
LondonLovesBusiness spoke to a GP on Saturday, who said, face masks “are only really helpful for airborne infections, which the coronavirus is not.
“If you buy the cheaper masks and change them over when they become wet [they are then not effective] they are good enough to avoid you putting your hands to your mouth and avoid catching any droplets in the air from someone sneezing or coughing.
“The masks are only really needed if you are in busy areas with lots of people in close proximity.”
However, the health minister told the BBC, “The advice I have been given is that members of the public are not particularly recommended to use face masks.
“They may be used by clinicians but actually they are not something that is recommended for the general public.
“The important thing is the handwashing advice and the use of tissues.”
The health minister said Britain is the best country to be in should the coronavirus outbreak become a pandemic because “we are so on it for contingency planning.”
Leave a Commment