Video shows Belgian leader struggling with face mask

A world leader has been filmed struggling to fit himself with a face masks, repeatedly putting it on his forehead and eyes.

Global leaders have shown they are struggling in the face of conflicting health advice as they fail to find a consistent approach to wearing a face mask.

A video from last week showed the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium trying and failing multiple times to fit himself with a face mask, which he first puts on his forehead, before putting over his eyes.

Koen Geens, who is in charge of supervising PPE in his country, was visiting a sewing workshop when he was filmed struggling with the mask.

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Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium struggles with a face mask.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi adjusts her the cloth mask during a news conference last week. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

The two main sources of transmission of coronavirus are through contact and respiratory droplets, according to the latest advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO). That suggests properly worn face coverings are likely to slow or prevent the spread of COVID-19 to those at risk of inhaling a respiratory droplet from an infected person.

There is also advice to suggest by wearing a mask, an infectious person greatly lowers their risk of transmitting the virus to others.

In the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are urging people to cover their faces with homemade masks. After these guidelines were announced in the US, President Donald Trump said in a media briefing the cloth coverings were being recommended but remained “voluntary”.

“I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that’s OK,” Mr Trump said at the start of April.

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Masks are also not being recommended by the Australian government, who have advised there is not sufficient evidence to suggest wearing a mask stops the spread of the coronavirus in healthy populations.

Some leaders, however, are less hesitant to take on the practice, including Slovakian president Zuzana Caputova, who has attracted attention online for co-ordinating her masks with her outfits.

😭😍She made the masks look so fashionable

— Bookmark (@worstwordings) April 26, 2020

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wearing a face mask in parliament in Tokyo. Picture: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also seen wearing a mask as he announced a nationwide state of emergency in the country.

A number of other global politicians have also shared images of themselves in face masks including the Greek Prime Minister, New York City congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Democratic governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.

Το Εθνικό Κέντρο Αιμοδοσίας συνεισφέρει σημαντικά στη δυνατότητα της Ελλάδας να κάνει επιπρόσθετα τεστ μοριακού ελέγχου. Καθώς θα αρχίζουμε να εξετάζουμε το σταδιακό άνοιγμα της κοινωνίας και της οικονομίας, πρέπει να εντοπίζουμε τις εστίες γρήγορα και αξιόπιστα. pic.twitter.com/S6SzY2QIM8

— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) April 15, 2020

A new report suggested mask wearing had also become partisan in Washington, with Politico reporting, “Wearing a mask is for smug liberals. Refusing to is for reckless Republicans”, on Friday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has remained reticent on broadly recommending the public wear face masks. While the global health body conceded at the beginning of April masks are one effective preventive measure, they remain steadfast in recommending all masks “should be reserved for health care workers”.

The WHO does not advise healthy people wear masks, but should instead practice social distancing, practice hand hygiene, refrain from touching their face and cover their mouth and nose with their elbow when coughing or sneezing.