A Facebook video showing Gibraltar’s director of public health discussing the limitations of masks or face masks during the pandemic was shared online without significant connection. The clip was originally aired in April 2020 and the British Overseas Territory has since changed its lead in masks.
The 2 minute video was posted on Facebook on February 8, 2021 with the caption “Gibraltar Doctor’s honest advice” and at the time of writing here (1800) has 1,800 likes and 3,000 shares. It shows Dr Sohail Bhatti, director of public health for the area at the southern tip of Spain, and answers questions about wearing a mask.
He says: “The first thing is what will a mask do and how long will it be effective? As a PBT tool it is not very effective as it stops stopping after 15 minutes and the latest research suggests that the virus stays on your mask for nine hours, so if you do not remove it properly not, you will become infected. The best protection is to wash your hands regularly and regularly. ”
When asked by a journalist whether people concerned about asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 should wear a mask to spread the virus unintentionally, Bhatti replied: ‘I do not think it works particularly well … so I think not necessarily that people have to wear masks in the streets ”(1.10). At the end of the video, he concludes: “As I see people wearing masks, they actually show a lot of their own inner anxiety and fear when they wear the mask. Wash your hands, it’s much easier. ”(1.48)
However, this video is almost a year old. It was created on April 7, 2020 (here) by GBC, the public broadcasting corporation of Gibraltar, when the area did not recommend wearing masks in public (here).
This guidance was in line with the then advice of the World Health Organization (WHO). On 30 March 2020, the WTO’s executive director of the health emergency program, dr. Mike Ryan, said: “There is no specific evidence to suggest that wearing masks by the mass population has any benefits.” (26.40) (here).
However, since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been evidence to suggest that wearing masks reduces the transmission of COVID-19. On 5 June 2020, the WHO changed its leadership on masks, saying: ‘We have new research findings … that if done right, it could be a barrier … to potentially contagious drops.’ (here)
The Government of Gibraltar made masks indoors (here) on 21 August 2020 (here). Public Health Gibraltar currently recommends “the use of a face mask / mask in any enclosed areas and public counters where you interact with those outside your household” and “outside the environment where physical distance cannot be maintained” (here and here).
Dr Sohail Bhatti no longer believes that masks are unnecessary and tweeted on 10 February 2021: “Masks. Knowledge develops. We no longer drill holes in the heads to cure headaches. For air motors and masks and physical teleworking. SARS-CoV-2 is distributed by air. We learn new things every day and work on them when we are sure. ”(here)
VERDICT
Missing context. A Facebook video showing Gibraltar’s director of public health interpreting the use of masks in public was filmed in April 2020. The British overseas territory made masks indoors mandatory on 21 August 2020 and dr. Sohail Bhatti now supports masked wear to limit the spread of the novel. coronavirus.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.