WHO updates COVID-19 guidelines on masks, treatments and patient care
WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management. This is part of a continuous process of reviewing such materials, working with guideline development groups composed of independent, international experts who consider the latest available evidence and the changing epidemiology.
After exposure to someone with SARS-CoV-2 infection, an uninfected person’s risk of infection is cut in half if both people wore masks, researchers reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
In a so-called natural experiment, two school districts in Boston maintained masking after mandates had been lifted in others, enabling a unique comparison.
Studies Show More COVID-19 Cases in Areas Without School Masking Policies
Today, CDC released three studies in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that highlight the importance of using layered prevention strategies including universal masking to stop the spread and minimize disruptions to school operations for safe in-person education.
Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff
Researchers looked at what happened in Massachusetts schools when they lifted mask mandates. It resulted in 29.4 percent more cases in the 15 weeks after the decision.
“Responsible” or “Strange?” Differences in Face Mask Attitudes and Use Between Chinese and Non-East Asian Canadians During COVID-19’s First Wave
The attitudinal differences in public mask use call for targeted strategies to support mask wearing for different ethnocultural groups, which may be achieved partially through enhancing interethnic understanding on the diversified use of and opinions about masks. The findings suggest that favorable social norms, along with evidence-based information campaigns involving personal app...
Beyond Asian ‘mask culture’: understanding the ethics of face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic in Singapore
During the Covid-19 pandemic, face masks became widely used and sometimes mandatory anti-infection devices across the world. While anti-mask protests emerged in several Western countries, nearly un...
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan was known for its common practice of wearing masks. How did this practice establish itself among the Japanese people? Let's take a look at the history of and background to masks in Japan.
In Japan, it's sometimes said that the eyes speak as much as the mouth. Perhaps the proverbial phrase captures the essence of the nation’s affinity for fac
If caregivers are wearing masks, does that harm kids’ language development? No. There is no evidence of this. And we know even visually impaired children develop speech and language at the same rate as their peers.— American Academy of Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds) August 26, 2022
Psychologists: Masks do not impede preschoolers’ language development
A team of psychology researchers observed that young children produce the same amount of language whether or not they are wearing masks. Another finding showed that kids produce more complex speech sounds while wearing masks than without them.
Unproven claims of masks harming speech development spread online
Social media posts claim that mask use impairs children's speech development. But experts say that while more research is needed on the topic, preliminary data does not support this conclusion.