Experts reiterate call for ‘mass masking’
A GROUP of public health experts has repeated calls for ‘‘mass masking’’ amid the Covid19 pandemic — this time setting out the benefits for people riding on buses or crossing the border.
The use of masks has been debated among researchers; while many have argued they offer extra protection, a recent Governmentcommissioned review found there was not enough evidence to make recommendations either way.
Nonetheless, University of Otago researchers doubled down on earlier calls for mass masking in a blog post yesterday.
Those experts — professors Nick Wilson and Michael Baker, and doctors Sophie Febery, Ling Chan and Amanda Kvalsvig — said there was ‘‘significant’’ indirect evidence from maskwearing countries to indicate the practice was an effective public health measure when combined with handwashing and physical distancing.
They described mass masking as a ‘‘lowcost intervention’’ with minimal risks and ‘‘significant’’ potential benefits.
At borders, airline and ship crew, currently exempt from quarantine requirements, could reduce the risk of bringing new cases into the country by wearing masks, particularly as rapid contact tracing was difficult amid people travelling.
It would give more confidence to international students and others flying between here and Australia in a future transtasman bubble, while also helping protect staff at the borders, they said.
‘‘Another benefit of mass masking over the winter months is the suppression of influenza and other respiratory viruses,’’ they said.
‘‘So mask use in winter will improve the efficiency of Covid19 outbreak detection by reducing the amount of testing required.’’
The researchers cited a range of new evidence backing the use of masks to limit transmission of the virus.
One review stated there was ‘‘modest evidence’’ to support widespread community use of masking, including cloth masks, to combat Covid19.
‘‘It will be important to examine evidence from countries such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore, where the majority of residents (as high as 98%) use masks in public, and where to a significant extent, Covid was contained in combination with known effective strategies,’’ the review stated.
Another study they cited suggested that a washcloth tied about the face could capture 99% of droplets from a person’s mouth — the main source of transmission for the virus.
However, it appeared unlikely the Government would recommend Kiwis wear masks any time soon.
Its own review, requested by Ministry of Health chief science adviser Dr Ian Town, even cited some evidence to show that the physical properties of cloth masks — and notably the effectiveness of cleaning them, and the potential for them to retain moisture — could raise the risk of infection.
In any case, any potential benefits of wearing masks were likely to be less effective than handwashing or physical distancing. — The New Zealand Herald