‘MASKS & HAND WASHING STILL MATTER’

Many people – including influential figures like MPs – are relying on old evidence and rules around coronavirus. Dr C shares the latest findings and explains what we need to do to remain safe

There’s only so long you can cope with endlessly reading about one subject, so people are fatigued and as a result they may be out of date with how coronavirus spreads, what the symptoms are and how to behave in the “new normal”.

PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS

Right from the start I’ve said that masks are a useful reminder of what we’re all dealing with, and a physical barrier to stop you putting your hands near your mouth or nose, where the virus can enter. That’s still true. A new study adds even more weight to the need for masks. Scientists compared the Alpha strain, which caused the second wave, with the original strain and found that Alpha-infected people exhaled 43 to 100 times more virus. Wearing a mask, whether it was cloth or a surgical one, cut the amount of virus they exhaled almost in half. Delta spreads even more effectively than Alpha, so it’s likely to release even more particles into the air. That’s why masks are important – because otherwise we breathe in those particles and catch it.

USE THE ‘SMOKE’ TRICK

There’s a lot of confusion about when people should wear masks. I would say wear them in crowded spaces without good ventilation. If you’re on a train, wear one. If you’re in your front room, with the window open and a friend has popped round for a cuppa, you may decide not to. Think of the virus like cigarette smoke – if someone smokes a cigarette in a room with the window closed, the smoke lingers in the room long after they leave, and everyone else breathes it in – the same is true of particles of virus. Thinking of it that way can help you decide when to wear your mask. Surfaces still matter too, because whatever is in the air eventually settles on them, which is why we need to keep hand washing, because if you then touch that surface then eat some food or bite your nails, you could become infected.

DON’T BE FOOLED

An MP recently said that wearing a mask was no better than wearing an old pair of pants. He based that opinion on the fact that 14 months ago, the deputy chief medical officer said that the evidence for masks wasn’t “very strong”. She has since said we should have recommended face coverings sooner. The truth is that at that time, there wasn’t much evidence – but there is now! Carrying on quoting something so far out of date is misguided, and it’s not really understanding the way science works. Our knowledge has strengthened and evidence has grown, and however bored we are of it, we need to keep up to date.

UNDERSTAND HOW VACCINES WORK

A lot of people think that once they’re fully vaccinated they don’t need to worry any more – they don’t need to wear a mask on a busy train, or wash their hands regularly. Everyone was told vaccines would save lives – which they have – but not through stopping us catching Covid. They make sure that the vast majority of people don’t become so severely sick with it that they’re hospitalised. The reason we have to keep up with hand washing and mask wearing is to protect clinically vulnerable people because they can still lose their lives to Covid even if they’re vaccinated. We need to wear a mask to protect people who are having cancer treatments, which dent their immune systems, people with conditions like cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, or a serious heart condition, but also pregnant women who are far more vulnerable to coronavirus. Just because someone is on a commuter train, doesn’t mean they’re well – you can’t see if someone has cystic fibrosis or is undergoing chemotherapy.

SLOW THE SPREAD

We also wear masks to reduce transmission in general – because we want to get rid of

this pandemic, and all of these measures that help reduce the spread help to stop it hanging around. The NHS still lists the symptoms of coronavirus as a dry continuous cough, a fever and a loss of your sense of taste or smell, but now that so many people are vaccinated, the symptoms may be far milder. To a young, healthy person Covid may just feel like a cold. If you have mild symptoms – whatever they are – I would suggest getting a free lateral flow test and, if it’s positive, a PCR test. Nearly everyone I know who has had Covid felt like they had a really awful cold for a few days, and younger people have had other symptoms like a sore throat, a rash or a headache.

GOT A SNIFFLE? GET TESTED FOR COVID

If you assume it’s a cold and carry on as normal, you could unwittingly pass on coronavirus. We haven’t been exposed to many viruses since the start of the pandemic, so now everybody is mixing, they’re picking up germs, but you can have two things at once, so you could have Covid and a cold. That’s why it’s better to check with a free lateral flow test. We could really do with some clear rules – and good examples. Seeing pictures of crowded cabinet meetings in an unventilated room where nobody is wearing a mask, and hearing MPs coming out with unscientific comments, isn’t helpful.

PLAY YOUR PART

If you’re ill, get tested and behave as if it’s Covid. That doesn’t mean you have to isolate for 10 days – just wear a mask, wash your hands often for 20 seconds and keep your distance from others. The basic advice we gave out right at the start is still just as crucial. I don’t think Covid will ever go away completely, but it’s way more containable if we all play our part.