Coronavirus UK: should I be wearing a face mask?

The UK government has told the public to wear 'cloth face coverings' in crowded places where it's not possible to comply with physical-distancing measures, but what does this mean? Why not face masks? Outside too? Should anyone avoid wearing a face covering? The Guardian's health editor, Sarah Boseley, answers these and other questions.

The Guardian YouTube network:

[thdestiny]

If they ever make a film about the UK response, it'll be called "Carry On Covid".

[Radx]

maybe that's why corona virus cases are lowering in Asian counties but not in Europe or in the US

[slamExplained]

Now off to the comment section to see what the experts are saying.

[Symmetry]

I dont understand why they say there is a shortage of medical face masks when there are thousands upon thousands for sale on ebay

[steveothehulk]

The Last time I went in to a shop with a mask on I got 3 yrs!

[JAZPER]

The one thing that wasn't said but clearly implied, was for facecoverings to work and avoid infection transfer, would require the mandatory wearing of facecoverings/mask in public indoor areas such as shops buses trains or any other enclosed public indoor areas. The Government need to get its head out of the sand and start thinking more logically.

[binjuice]

Wear a mask but dont wear a mask because you could still catch it, but wear a mask tho

[susanb]

i wear a mask everywhere because people always come up behind me and invade my space, especially grocery store clerks. this is bad advice, frankly. wear a mask AND keep your distance

[MyEyeHub]

Please learn the costly lesson from other countries such as Germany, South Korea and Hong Kong etc. where their government, doctors and scientists already found the evidence of benefits of wearing a mask in pubic and encouraged people to follow it even if they DON’T have any symptoms as the virus is very often Asymptomatic, therefore they controlled the situation better. Please do not use a shortage of masks as an excuse, there has been enough time to prepare since this happened. We have to take every measure that we could do to save lives and should not take any risk.

Keep you distance, but you can't keep you distance from an air conditioner system inside a building.

[BrandenBrazil]

Such mixed messaging in this video! I live in Japan, where prior to Covid, it is quite normal to wear masks for colds, influenza and allergies. It is done, because social responsibility is a strong component of the culture. When I went into Tokyo for business two days ago, I estimate that 98% of all the people I saw had masks on. I am convinced that the relatively low death rate of 918 people to date in Japan, compared to the horrific numbers in the UK and the US, is due to mask-wearing and other cultural practices, such as hygiene practices and a stronger sense of communal responsibility. WEAR A MASK! And, just for the record, her claim that wearing a mask will make us complacent about social-distancing, that is utter poppycock! You can wear a mask and practice social-distancing!

[ambience]

By stigmatising "only the sick need to wear masks" then no one will wear a mask for fear of being thought 'sick'. Instead the government should be encouraging everyone to wear face masks or coverings. Furthermore, supplying the public with surgical style masks for domestic use, should not cause supply shortages for healthcare workers because these workers should be being provided with N95, virus filtration masks, that provide measurable protection.

[marcusskyfall]

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little *temporary* safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety (let that sink in you flock of sheep!) 🙄

[jacquelinesmith]

People are Waking up to this utter BS!

[johnaspray]

I recommend a hessian sack with one eye hole, it's called a Merrick. This is particularly useful for really ugly people.

[bellagrey]

The western ego is so obvious here.. they can’t just say.. oopss you need to wear a face mask (normal clothing, 2, 3 ply whatever).. they need to say not really a face mask bla bla bla.. just use common sense mam

[badnewsbadger]

So a fart can get through two layers of cotton but the corona virus cannot 🤔 interesting.

[engima]

Social distancing should really be 8 metres, according to sciencetifc evidence. Although this would cause too much disruption in society, therefore 2 meters was postulated by the government to be manageable, but certainly not saver.

[deathofcommonsense]

There is also a serious issue if one wears a mask for extended periods because you are re-breathing in your exhaled CO2 which will stimulate your immune system to react in negative ways to the excessive CO2 intake!

[kk-qrhw]

Almost everyone in Asia has been using facemaks as early as Feb. korea who was able to "somehow" eliminate the virus has been using this. Why is europe esp. London just discussing this now? So late.