According to the Global Times Health Client, Zeng Guang, a famous epidemiologist, recently mentioned in a conference that masks can be removed in some places! This view quickly triggered discussion among netizens and was popular on microblogs. A netizen commented that "now many places are at the peak of COVID-19 infection, and we want everyone to pick it.". According to the Oxford Policy Tightness Index and the information published on the relevant official website, most countries around the world have adjusted their policies for the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic, no longer restricting workplaces, public activities, public transportation, travel, etc., but only retaining the requirement of wearing masks in specific places.
In response to the question of whether masks should be removed, Fu Hua, a professor of the School of Public Health of Fudan University in Shanghai, said in an interview with the reporter of "Global Times Health Client" that China's prevention and control policies have been orderly liberalized, the number of infected people is increasing, and the immunization coverage is getting wider and wider, and the immune barrier is slowly forming. Although some preventive measures need not be too strict, they should also be discussed according to the situation. N95 masks are mainly used to prevent aerosol transmission, while medical surgical masks are mainly used to prevent droplet transmission. It is recommended that the elderly, especially those with chronic diseases, wear N95 masks when going out. Other people can adjust according to different occasions.
1. Open outdoors. If you want to go out for a walk, or go for an outing in an open place, you may not wear a mask when you cannot pass through a densely populated area.
2. Workplace. If people in a unit are relatively fixed and most of them have been infected, they can take off masks in the office area.
3. Personnel intensive occasions. For example, in shopping malls and cinemas, it is better to wear medical surgical masks even if they have been infected. This is a kind of social etiquette because people do not know about each other's infection. Wearing masks is respect for others. Fu Hua said that we have been epidemic prevention for more than three years, and most people are not so disgusted with masks. Winter is the active period of viruses. From the perspective of preventing other respiratory infectious diseases, it is also recommended to wear medical surgical masks in densely populated areas.
4. Hospital. The hospital is densely populated and has many patients. It is better to wear N95 masks to protect each other.
5. Rural areas. Fu Hua said that the countryside is indeed a dilemma. On the one hand, there are many left behind elderly people and their medical conditions are poor; However, most of the rural areas are open land, the population density is relatively low, and some health resources for protection are also weak. For example, the reserve of masks may not be sufficient, so it is difficult to make mandatory requirements. It is recommended that villagers wear surgical masks during the New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, especially in crowded fairs, temple fairs and other occasions.
6. The cities that have not reached the peak of infection. Different cities can not be generalized. It depends on the local medical preparation. Although the peak of infection will not disappear, it can be postponed. If the current medical conditions are still difficult to cope with, more strict protective policies may be adopted, and specific decisions need to be made by each region. If you want to avoid the peak of infection, you are recommended to wear N95 masks when going out.
7. Vehicles. It is recommended to wear medical surgical masks when commuting by bus or subway. Airplanes, trains, long-distance buses, etc. are all confined spaces that have been exposed for a long time. If there are uninfected elderly people at home after the Spring Festival, it is recommended to strengthen protection and wear N95 masks throughout the journey.
Fu Hua said that whether masks can be removed in a large scale in the future depends on the trend of the COVID-19. If the virus infection has become weak, most people can remove masks. If the transmission is still strong, even if the infected people have weakened their antibody capacity, they may be re infected. Therefore, professional authorities need to study and judge according to the situation at that time. It is difficult to determine when they can remove masks.