As confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to surge in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said government might commence enforcement of wearing of face mask in public places from Monday, April 27th, 2020.

He also said one million locally-made face masks had been contracted to tailors and would be distributed to the public.

However, experts say while wearing medical masks is one of the preventive measures that could limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19, they are insufficient to protect wearers from infection.

According to the World Health Organisation, there is currently no evidence that wearing a mask (whether medical or other types) by healthy persons in the wider community setting can prevent them from getting infected with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.

How face masks protect

In an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, Consultant Pathologist and President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Francis Faduyile, said the N-95 facemask gives up to 95 percent protection against COVID-19, while the surgical facemask gives up to 30 percent protection.

Fabric face masks — such as the type being recommended by the Lagos Governor — give about 10-15 percent of protection, the pathologist said.

While it has not been established that face masks will give absolute protection, if we don’t have any other thing and they are saying they want to use face masks, then nobody can fault that.

However, people should not have a false hope that when they put on the face masks, they are covered, as the percentage of safety is low,

Faduyile said.

For the face masks to be effective, the wearer must know how to put it on and how to discard it and where to touch and where he cannot touch because if he touches the area he or she is not meant to touch, he or she can infect himself more than when he or she is not using the face mask,

the physician warned.

What WHO says

The World Health Organisation says whether or not masks are used, maximum compliance with hand hygiene and other infection prevention control measures are critical to prevent human-to-human transmission of COVID-19.

While advocating that medical masks should be reserved for healthcare workers, WHO says the use of medical masks in the community may create a false sense of security, with neglect of other essential measures such as hand hygiene practices and physical distancing.

It may also lead to touching the face under the mask and under the eyes,

WHO said.

It also said the use of masks made of other materials (e.g., cotton fabric), also known as nonmedical masks, in the community setting has not been well evaluated.

There is no current evidence to make a recommendation for or against their use in this setting,

WHO noted.

Features of non-medical masks

The WHO said,

In the interim, decision-makers may be moving ahead with advising the use of nonmedical masks. Where this is the case, the features related to nonmedical masks should be taken into consideration.

The features include the numbers of layers of fabric/tissue, the breathability of material used, water repellence/hydrophobic qualities, the shape of the mask, and the fit of the mask,

WHO counsels.

Before wearing a mask

The world health body gives the following steps to using a mask:

• Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.
• Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.
• To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask).
• Discard immediately in a closed bin; clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.