New WHO guidance on masks
So they haven't effectively changed their advice really, that is interesting
I still don't really understand some of the reasons:
the following potential risks should be carefully
taken into account in any decision-making process:
• self-contamination that can occur by touching and
reusing contaminated mask
I have never understood this reason. If I am wearing a mask and it gets contaminated on the outside, of course there is the risk that I won't take it off properly and might contaminate myself but frankly if the CV virus is on the outside of my mask, it would have been inside my mouth if I hadn't been wearing the mask. I'd rather take the risk of contaminating myself from removing the mask than the certainty of the virus being inside my mouth !!
I understand that the risk of getting the virus on my mask is very small in a community setting so that is maybe a reason why masks are not needed but not the one given above.
depending on type of mask used, potential breathing
difficulties
Fair enough but not an issue with surgical masks
false sense of security, leading to potentially less
adherence to other preventive measures such as physical
distancing and hand hygiene
This I agree is an issue but could be mitigated with education campaigns, like the 'wash your hands for 20 seconds one'
diversion of mask supplies and consequent shortage of
mask for health care workers
This is a real one I think, though it is to do with lack of resources, rather than effectiveness of masks and we could ask people to make their own
diversion of resources from effective public health
measures, such as hand hygiene
This I understand though again, it is more to do with lack of resources than the effectiveness of masks