Coronavirus: how the discourse on masks is evolving in France

At the start of the crisis, they were considered useful only for the sick and caregivers. Now, the authorities, in France and even in the United States, encourage the public to wear masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

The Academy of Medicine, on Friday, notably recommended the wearing of the mask as a "logical addition to the barrier measures currently in force". A few hours later, it was the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, who repeated this recommendation. "We encourage the general public, if they wish, to wear [...] these alternative masks that are being produced," he said during his usual follow-up point.

These alternative masks, in fabric in particular, should especially serve as barriers to postilions. They are "intended for the general population or those who come into contact with many other people in the context of their professional activity." They are being produced. The objective is to produce more than 5 million per week, "said the Prime Minister during a hearing at the Assembly of the fact-finding mission of deputies on the epidemic.

Avoid a sudden shortage

During this hearing, Edouard Philippe had nevertheless expressed his skepticism about the usefulness of masks. The WHO director for emergency programs "says there is no evidence that wearing a mask in the population would be beneficial. It would even be quite the opposite, due to improper use, ”he said. Before him, it was Sibeth Ndiaye, or even Agnes Buzyn, then Minister of Health, who deemed the purchase and use of masks useless for the entire population.

Why such a sudden turnaround? According to the promoters of the generalized wearing of the mask, this discourse was above all intended to prevent the general public from rushing on those reserved for caregivers (surgical masks and FFP2, more protective) and aggravates an already existing shortage.

"There is a real inflection in the United States and the WHO is in the process of revising its recommendations", adds meanwhile Professor KK Cheng, specialist in public health at the University of Birmingham (England), favorable to the port generalized mask.

> 1m ago we said in @TheLancet "With the imminent pandemic, health authorities need to decide rapidly whether they should adopt mass masking". A long wait compared to the speed of spread of the pandemic but finally @CDCgov changes its mind. pic.twitter.com/PkgpcCDDgY

In the United States, the authorities have also turned around. In New York, one of the biggest epidemic centers of the country, the mayor Bill de Blasio called on his population to cover their faces at the least exit. "It could be a scarf, something you made, a bandana," he said.

Talking transmissions?

The idea was followed by President Donald Trump, who told all Americans to cover their faces on Friday. It is suspected that "the virus can be transmitted when people are just talking, rather than just when they sneeze or cough," the highly respected American specialist Anthony Fauci, adviser to the president, told Fox News.

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For its part, the WHO still sticks to its initial position, fearing that the widespread use of the mask would give a “false sense of security” and make people forget the essential barrier measures (social distancing, hand washing, etc.)

However, her boss, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, conceded on Wednesday that she continued to "assess the potential use of the mask more broadly." "The pandemic is evolving, the evidence and our opinions too," he said.

Tutorials for making handcrafted masks are widely circulated on the Internet, sometimes from hospitals or learned societies. The French collective Stop postillons offers them on its site (stop-postillons.fr). Launched by doctors, it speaks of “anti-postilion screens” for the general public rather than masks, in order to avoid confusion with the equipment for caregivers.