WEARING two face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is not necessary, according to a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO).
In response to a question about the necessity of wearing two kinds of masks at the same time, Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the health body’s representative to the Philippines, said: “It depends on what kind of mask you are wearing.”
“If you are wearing medical or surgical masks, we don’t think there is a necessity for two masks. I have seen some reports that say if you wear two masks, it is more protective. The question is where do you draw the line? You could say five masks could be more protective than two,” he told ANC’s Headstart on Monday, February 1.
Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser on COVID-19 under the Biden administration, endorsed double masking.
“So, if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on — it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective, and that’s the reason why you see people either double-masking or doing a version of an N95,” Fauci told NBC News’ Today.
Abeyasinghe, on the other hand, reminded everyone about the importance of proper hygiene, wearing face masks properly, and social distancing.
“We need to continue to follow hand hygiene, mask-wearing, cough etiquette, and physical distancing,” he said.
“These are the measures that will help us protect ourselves and our loved ones as we wait for the potential arrival of vaccines and an end to this pandemic but that is still a long road,” he added.
To date, there are a total of 527,272 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines, with 10,807 fatalities and 487,574 recoveries. (AJPress)