Encourage face masks now, say UK doctors

Surgical masks are in short supply around the world, but a group of UK doctors say everyone should be wearing them, and other scientists say we should actually be re-using them.

• China clamping down on COVID-19 research: report
• Old vaccines for other germs being tested against COVID-19

With health services around the world – including in Australia – forced to ration supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical staff, UK researchers say the wearing of face masks by the general public should now be encouraged.

Writing in The BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal), Professor Trisha Greenhalgh at the University of Oxford said despite limited evidence, “masks are simple, cheap, and potentially effective.”

“We believe that, worn both in the home (particularly by the person showing symptoms) and also outside the home in situations where meeting others is likely (for example, shopping, public transport), they could have a substantial impact on transmission with a relatively small impact on social and economic life,” Prof Greenhalgh said.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy has been opposed to the wearing of masks by the general public. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

The current shortage of masks could be “quickly overcome by repurposing manufacturing capacity” she wrote.

It’s a position that has been fiercely contested in Australia, where community transmission of the virus is at much lower levels.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has previously said that “No one should go around wearing and wasting face masks”.

The Commonwealth Department of Health is currently rationing the supply of PPE, including surgical masks, to public health networks “with demonstrated need”.

A spokesperson for the Deparrtment said no advice had been issued regarding best practice in re-using PPE for health services who are running low or out of stock. The Department’s focus is on obtaining adequate supplies.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have advocated for the general population to wear masks, but the World Health Organisation has not done so.

Meanwhile, researchers in Canada and New Zealand say healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic facing critical shortages of PPE could reuse items up to five times if necessary using a two-step disinfection method.

Teams from the University of Auckland and Canada’s University of Waterloo proposed that visibly soiled PPE should be discarded, but other items could be stored for at least four days to allow for the natural death, or deactivation, of coronavirus over time. Ultraviolet (UV) light, dry heat and chemicals could also be used, they said in their paper, which has not yet been peer reviewed.

“Instead of relying on a single method, we would use time and its natural disinfecting effect, plus a more aggressive treatment approach to finish off the process,” said Bill Anderson, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Waterloo.

“New PPE is always going to be better, but this two-step approach would be highly effective if reuse was necessary.”

Originally published as Encourage face masks now, say UK doctors