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Experts debate on wearing masks outdoors
Apr 30 2021
Mask wearing by the public, particularly outdoors, remains controversial. But should masks be worn outside, in some circumstances, to help reduce covid-19 virus transmission - or should efforts focus on reducing indoor transmission where risks are greater?
Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today.
Babak Javid at the University of California San Francisco and colleagues acknowledge that the risk of covid-19 virus transmission is far greater indoors than outdoors. Nor do they support policies that mandate masking outdoors when someone is alone or only with members of one household.
But they argue that wearing masks outdoors, particularly at large outdoor gatherings with prolonged close interactions, should be normalized because it may reduce virus transmission and encourage mask wearing indoors, where risks are greater.
Date Time
Should masks be worn outdoors?
Mask wearing by the public, particularly outdoors, remains controversial. But should masks be worn outside, in some circumstances, to help reduce covid-19 virus transmission – or should efforts focus on reducing indoor transmission where risks are greater?
Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today.
Babak Javid at the University of California San Francisco and colleagues acknowledge that the risk of covid-19 virus transmission is far greater indoors than outdoors. Nor do they support policies that mandate masking outdoors when someone is alone or only with members of one household.
But they argue that wearing masks outdoors, particularly at large outdoor gatherings with prolonged close interactions, should be normalised because it may reduce virus transmission and encourage mask wearing indoors, where risks are greater.
The clinicians said wearing facemasks outdoors should apply in settings where it is difficult to physically distance and where several households are mixing for a prolonged time PEOPLE should be asked to wear face coverings when attending large outdoor gatherings such as sporting events to prevent Covid super-spreading, researchers have argued. Writing as part of a debate in the BMJ today, clinicians from California and Switzerland say the policy makes sense in settings where it is difficult to maintain physical distance for prolonged periods . Although they acknowledge that the estimated risk of transmission is four to 20 times more likely indoors than outdoors, they conclude that mandating facemasks outdoors when people are mixing with several other household groups helps to make it a normalised behaviour.