Topline
Amid rising diseases and hospitals linked to new, more contagious, changes of Covid-19 across Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that everyone in the country must wear medical-grade face masks , instead of just covering clothes, when in the workplace, on public transport, and in shops.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel discusses new measures to bring down Covid-19 numbers … [+]
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Key facts
Germans will be allowed to wear single-use anti-septic surgery (FFP) masks or FFP-2 masks, such as N95s.
Merkel said the threat of the UK coronavirus version, known as B.1.1.7., Is the main reason for the strict regulations.
Over the past few days, the French government has admitted that it is considering a similar decree, with the country’s top public health council saying many clothing masks are not promising. protection against new variables.
Key background information:
According to a study published in the medical journal Lancet over the summer, “both N95 and surgical masks have a stronger link to protection compared to single-layer masks.” However, due to so little medical-grade face coverage, counties like the United States have advised their citizens not to purchase them, hoping to ensure adequate supply of front-line medical workers. The World Health Organization recommends clothing masks or clothing for the general public, advising that medical masks should be reserved for “medical staff, people with coronavirus symptoms, those who are coming. contact with them, and those over 60 or at high risk. ”According to a report in The Keeper on Wednesday, no questions have yet been answered about FFP2’s front cover. “In mid-December, the German government issued vouchers for medical grade masks to more than 34 million citizens over 60, those with a history of illnesses such as cancer.” that is a different challenge, “said a spokesman for the Federal Union of German Pharmacists’ Associations.” I would not wish to comment on the outcome. “
Large number:
48,770. That’s the number of Germans killed by the coronavirus, Wednesday morning, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s public health institute.
Quote Cruise:
“The better the quality of the mask you can wear, the more effective it will be at stopping dispersal, but you also need to put an affordable and accessible price on that,” said Jimmy Whitworth, senior professor of public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. According to Whitworth, the German directive “touches on debate in the UK about ramp up mask requirements.”
Further reading:
European growing mask asks: Put down those clothes for medical grade cover (WaPo)
France Can Follow Germany In Making Mandatory Clinical Masks (The Guardian)
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