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Is it advisable or not to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus? Several countries recommend a form of mouth protection to citizens, while the cabinet does not like it at the moment. Five questions about the mouth mask discussion.
How does the virus spread?
Before discussing the advice for wearing a mouth mask, it is good to know how the coronavirus is spread.
This can be done by spreading drops from an infected person to a healthy person through sneezing or coughing. Or if the drops and therefore the virus end up on a surface and a healthy person comes into contact with it.
The virus can enter not only through the nose and mouth, but also through the lining of the eye. That is why health personnel also wear eye masks.
What is RIVM’s advice?
The National Institute of Public Health and Environment (RIVM) says that wearing face masks is not a useful addition if one adheres to advice, such as keeping a distance of 1.5 meters, washing your hands regularly and well, and staying home. if you have complaints.
But another factor is that the Netherlands has a shortage of personal protective equipment for health workers, including face masks. This protective equipment is of great importance to health care personnel who come into direct contact with people infected with the coronavirus or who work with the elderly.
However, another form of mouth protection is also not recommended for citizens, such as a bandana for the mouth. According to the RIVM, there is a danger that mouth masks could create false security, because people with a cold believe that they can go out and infect others.
What is the policy of the Dutch government?
The cabinet follows the advice of experts from the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), which also includes RIVM. And for the moment, the advice is not to wear face masks in public spaces.
At the same time, however, RIVM and Prime Minister Mark Rutte do not exclude that mouth masks are recommended at some point. In the so-called exit strategy, which is the plan to carefully open the society again, the mask can play a role in contact professions like hairdressers. An important observation from Rutte is that it is not an alternative to what is called the 1.5 meter society.
When it comes to mask shortages in medical care, the Health Ministry devised a distribution model on Saturday to ensure better and fairer distribution of protective equipment in all areas of care.
Home care and care for the elderly, for example, have worked for weeks without adequate protection, because all care was directed to intensive care. The OMT wrote this week that shortages have played a role in the alarming number of deaths in nursing homes.
Why do other countries recommend using mouth masks?
Countries such as Germany, Belgium and the United States recommend the use of face masks, especially in spaces or environments, where it is not possible to maintain a sufficient distance from each other.
They also emphasize that it is not an alternative to the other measures, but can possibly prevent infection by people who carry the coronavirus but have no symptoms.
These countries are cloth masks that people can make.
What does the WHO say about the use of masks?
The World Health Organization, WHO, said in an opinion that on April 6 it was published that people had been infected by a person carrying the coronavirus, but had no complaints. Wearing a mouth mask could prevent this type of infection.
The WHO does point out that healthy people do not have to wear a mask and the risks associated with this. It does this, among other things, in the face of the aforementioned false security and that the masks that are needed in medical care end up with the citizen.
The WHO recommends that countries in which it is customary to wear a medical mask or have advised residents to wear it provide clear information to people. So how to wear the mask and when to throw it away.
When it comes to homemade masks, the shape, how they are worn, and whether the material is waterproof enough is crucial to the operation of the masks.
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