2020 1218

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/world/coronavirus-who-masks-recommendation-
trnd/index.html

WHO stands by recommendation to not

wear masks if you are not sick or not
caring for someone who is sick
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN
Updated 2:24 AM ET, Tue March 31, 2020
Masks may actually increase your coronavirus risk if worn improperly, surgeon general
warns

(CNN)World Health Organization officials Monday said they still

recommend people not wear face masks unless they are sick with Covid-19 or
caring for someone who is sick.

"There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass
population has any potential benefit. In fact, there's some evidence to suggest the
opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly," Dr. Mike Ryan,
executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, said at a media briefing in
Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday.
"There also is the issue that we have a massive global shortage," Ryan said about
masks and other medical supplies. "Right now the people most at risk from this virus are
frontline health workers who are exposed to the virus every second of every day. The
thought of them not having masks is horrific."

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the WHO, also said
at Monday's briefing that it is important "we prioritize the use of masks for those who
need it most," which would be frontline health care workers.

"In the community, we do not recommend the use of wearing masks unless you yourself
are sick and as a measure to prevent onward spread from you if you are ill," Van
Kerkhove said.

"The masks that we recommend are for people who are at home and who are sick and for
those individuals who are caring for those people who are home that are sick," she said.

World Health Organization officials warned at a media briefing last week that
globally there is a "significant shortage" of medical supplies, including
personal protective gear or PPE, for doctors.