- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may start urging Americans to cover their faces to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, according to The Washington Post.
- If the advice is updated, the CDC will stress that surgical masks are for medical professionals only, and that people should make their own masks, The Post reported.
- The CDC's current advice is to wash hands, obey social distancing advice, and stay at home.
- However, for some time, US doctors have urged people to wear masks, contrary to government advice.
- The US now has the most coronavirus infections in the world, and has as of Monday recorded more than 3,170 deaths.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may soon advise Americans to cover their faces to hamper the coronavirus spread, but would reserve masks for medical workers.
The CDC currently "does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19," according to a CBS report from March 3.
But that may soon change, according to The Washington Post, who cited two federal officials as saying the CDC is now debating whether to formally encourage people to cover their faces when they're out.
However, it may tell people fashion their own face covers with cloth in order to free up surgical face masks for medics and health workers, The Post reported, citing the second official said.
"The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings," the CDC currently says.
Health workers across the US - and in many countries around the world - have reported a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to them.
Protective medical gowns have been in such short supply in New York City's Mount Sinai system that some nurses have started to use Hefty-brand garbage bags instead, Business Insider's Sarah Al-Arshani previously reported.
For some time a number of doctors have urged the public to wear masks, contrary to CDC guidelines.
However, not all medical professionals have been in agreement.
On February 29, the US surgeon general - who works for the Department of Health and Human Services, not the CDC - said people should not wear masks because they simply don't work.
"Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!" Jerome Adams tweeted. "They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus."
The first time the CDC commented on the use of masks was during the very early stages of the US' coronavirus outbreak, on January 30.
"We don't routinely recommend the use of face masks by the public to prevent respiratory illness. And we certainly are not recommending that at this time for this new virus," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC said at the time.
But, as the number of cases continued to rise day-on-day across the US, more drastic measures have been put in place to slow the virus, including lockdowns, curfews, and social distancing guidelines.
As of Monday night, the US has the most coronavirus infections in the world, registering 164,359 cases and passing 3,170 deaths.
Top Chinese scientist believes the US and Europe's 'big mistake' is not making people wear masks
China, where the outbreak started in late December, has stopped reporting large number of new cases, but is more than a month ahead of the US in its coronavirus cycle. (The UK government reportedly believes that China is grossly underreporting the number of cases.)
George Gao, director-general of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Science magazine in an article published Friday that the lesson they learned from the outbreak is simple: Wear masks to stop the spread.
"The big mistake in the US and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren't wearing masks. This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact," Gao said.
"Droplets play a very important role-you've got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth," Gao added. "Many people have asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections."
"If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others."
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Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
https://t.co/UxZRwxxKL9
- U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) February 29, 2020