Manitoba experts weigh in on wearing face masks amid COVID-19 pandemic

The opinions and studies are wide-ranging around the globe: whether or not a mask is needed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced new federal guidelines recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Two European countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia, now require people to wear face masks in public. Austria is about to pass legislation that will make face masks mandatory in all grocery stores.

Earlier this week, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said face masks can help those already infected with COVID-19 from spreading the disease, but they do little for healthy people and can potentially cause people to touch their face more frequently.

Those statements are reiterated by public health officials in Manitoba.

“The issue here is that if we’re concerned about this virus, as we all should be, we should be staying at home as much as we can. If we go out, then we should be practicing social distancing at all times,” said Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin.

“So for the most part it’s not a recommendation I would strongly make. My recommendation is stay home, and if you have to go out for necessities, then practice social distancing at all times.”

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Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor in the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba, says the benefits of face masks aren’t exactly clear cut.

“Our primary concern with face masks, whether they be surgical masks or N95s, is that our frontline healthcare workers need to have ample supplies of those,” Kindrachuk said, adding the benefits of face masks are still highly debated.

“Surgical masks, in particular for people that are sick or who have symptoms of a respiratory illness, surgical masks are still deemed appropriate for those folks if they have to go out in public, because ultimately it will reduce their ability to transmit,” he said.

“But of course it has to be kept in mind that these things aren’t fail-safes.”