Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Jun 21, 2025

Wear masks in crowded places to combat coronavirus, World Health Organisation finally advises the public

Wear masks in crowded places to combat coronavirus, World Health Organisation finally advises the public

WHO recommends expanded use of face masks after five months of debate. Conclusion supports early adoption of protective equipment in Asian centres such as Hong Kong.

After more than five months of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organisation is advising the public to wear masks on public transport and in crowded areas.

The change was announced as the WHO issued a new set of detailed guidelines on the use of masks.

“In light of evolving evidence, WHO advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news conference on Friday.

The new guidelines said that vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with jobs that interacted with the public, such as social workers and cashiers, should wear masks.

Until April, WHO, the United Nations health agency, had been advising policymakers and the public that only coronavirus patients, health workers and carers should wear masks.

In guidelines issued in January and March, the WHO said that “a medical mask is not required for people who are not sick as there is no evidence of its usefulness in protecting them”.

It shifted its position on April 6, saying there was “limited evidence” showing that masks might offer protection to healthy individuals at mass gatherings. But it stopped short of generally advising healthy individuals to wear masks outside.

“The wider use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks,” the agency said in advice to policymakers on April 6.



WHO said it had updated its recommendations after considering scientific studies, the prevalence of pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic transmissions and the difficulties of social distancing.

The WHO ‘s new recommendations followed a study it financed, the results of which were published in the British medical journal The Lancet on Monday.

After reviewing 172 observational studies across 16 countries and six continents, and 44 relevant comparative studies, the researchers concluded that wearing face masks could help reduce the transmission of diseases caused by coronaviruses, including Covid-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle East respiratory syndrome.

“These data also suggest that wearing face masks protects people (both health care workers and the general public) against infection by these coronaviruses, and that eye protection could confer additional benefit,” said the researchers, led by Derek Chu of McMaster University in Canada.



There has been a divide between East and West over whether healthy people should wear masks in public.

In many Asian countries and cities, including mainland China and Hong Kong – which experienced Sars 17 years ago – , the public adopted the practice from the earliest days of the pandemic.

Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, has repeatedly said that wearing masks is an important public health measure to reduce transmission.

In Hong Kong, one of the cities with the lowest rates of infection, wearing face masks is not compulsory but many of its residents have done so on the advice of health experts.

Officials and health specialists in many Western countries only began to advise the public to wear masks in April.

Since then, a number of countries including Germany, Austria and some US states and cities, such as New York, have made it compulsory for people to wear masks in the public.

But there has also been resistance at the top, with US President Donald Trump sharing a tweet in late May arguing that the mandated use of face masks to control the spread of the coronavirus represented a “culture of silence, slavery and social death”.




Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Black Box Recovered from Air India Crash Site
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
×