Coronavirus: Do you really need a face mask to go out in public?

Several countries have made face masks in public mandatory while others are reconsidering their stances.

People wearing face masks in Sydney’s CBD. Picture: AAP.

Australian health authorities are resisting a worldwide push to make people wear face masks in public to prevent the spread of coronavirus, with leading medical officers wanting protective equipment prioritised for doctors and nurses.

Several European countries — including Austria and the Czech Republic — have made face masks in public mandatory, and Germany and the US are reconsidering their stances on whether people without symptoms should protect their faces.

Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said people who are well should not wear masks, because hospital staff needed them.

“I recognise face masks are a concern in terms of the supply. We have had some good news in recent weeks, but particularly in the last couple of days, with several million masks arriving in the country,” Professor Kelly said.

“I'd say just on the personal protective equipment I think it is very important that we really put that towards our healthcare workforce, aged care workforce, they are the frontline that we all need be protected to be able to continue to work.

“They shouldn't be using face masks in public because that would be a waste of face masks.”

Medical opinion is divided on whether face masks are any use in containing COVID-19, with the World Health Organisation as early as Monday advocating that people do not wear face masks unless they have symptoms.

Recent medical studies — by the likes of Austin Health in North Melbourne in 2015 and Oxford University in 2009 — have shown that the universal use of face masks have proven useful in the containment of viruses like SARS, which is a cousin of the COVID-19 strain.

Asian countries where face masks are often worn — including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan — have had more success than many Western countries in flattening their coronavirus curve.

UNSW infectious diseases and biosecurity expert Rania MacIntyre has been involved in several trials on the ability of face masks to contain disease and said the evidence leaned toward ordinary cloth masks being a useful tool.

“The situation is very fluid … there is more evidence that cloth masks help to protect people from disease, than evidence that masks prevent others from contracting viruses,” Professor MacIntyre told The Australian.

“Wearing a face mask, combined with good hygiene, can be useful in high-risk, intense environments like a residential college and a lot of people with COVID-19 are also asymptomatic — so there would be some benefits in universal face mask usage.

“I believe the recommendations from authorities are around fear of (equipment) shortage instead of evidence-based containment of the virus … but we do not want people wearing surgical masks.”