A Facebook post questioned the reasoning for making face masks mandatory after pointing to a video from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending that it is not necessary to wear them if someone is not ill. This message is misleading because the WHO leadership is more than a year old and was issued more than a month before the WHO described the virus outbreak as a pandemic. The status, which was uploaded on March 12 and has more than 420 likes, shows a video by WHO consultant Christine Francis explaining: ‘If you do not have these COVID-19 symptoms, you do not need to wear masks , because there is no evidence that it protects people who are not ill. The accompanying caption reads: WHO’s advice on masks … If the World Health Organization (WHO) then tells us that we do not have to wear a mask unless we are ill, then why is it ‘compulsory’? Surely they are not being used as a weapon of fear and control for the radicalized mainstream media masses? Political symbol, or is it for your health? ”(Here). The video of Francis was originally released on February 7, 2020. (Here). At the time, the WHO did not propose that the public wear masks, because according to the WHO’s executive director of health emergencies program, dr. Mike Ryan, there was’ no specific evidence to suggest that wearing masks by the mass population has any potential. advantage ”. (26.40) (hereHowever, since the onset of the pandemic, evidence has emerged that wearing a mask does reduce COVID-19 transmission. 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 most recent WHO opinion on masks from December 2020 is clear that: “Masks are an important measure to suppress transmission and save lives.” Masks should be used as part of a comprehensive ‘Do it all!’ Approach, including: physical distance, avoid pressures, closed and close contact settings, good ventilation, cleaning hands, covering with sneezing and coughing, and more. ”The WHO recommends that masks be worn by the public in crowded environments or rooms with poor ventilation, but adds: “If in doubt, it’s safer to simply wear a mask.” It recommends non-medical, dust masks for the general public and medical masks for certain individuals such as health workers and people with underlying health conditions (here) The organization also has videos that explain when to wear masks and what materials for mask dust work best ( here) .Reuters checked similar posts using outdated information to undermine public health advice here.DED DISEASED.This message questions the reasoning for mandatory mask wearing using an old WHO video with outdated advice.The WHO has its regulations updated in June 2020 to cover the face to combat the spread of COVID-19. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.Read more about our fact-checking work here.
