This second edition of the Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A living guideline provides the most up to date technical guidance on mask use in community settings in the context of COVID-19.
In this edition, new information includes updated mask re
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commendations for children in community settings including updated age specific recommendations, statements for children with disabilities and those at high risk for complications related to COVID-19 infection. Updated implementation considerations for mask use in school settings are also included.
This living guideline is being published using the MAGICApp online publishing platform https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/Lr2a8L , as well as in PDF copy on the WHO website.
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21 August 2020
This guidance provides specific considerations for the use of non-medical masks, also known as fabric masks, by children as a means for source control in the context of the current C
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OVID-19 pandemic. It also advises on the use of medical masks for children under certain conditions.
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a systematic review and meta-analysis Derek K Chu et al. on behalf of the COVID-19 Systematic Urgent Review Group Effort (SURGE) study authors.
Published: The Lancet June 01, 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016S0140-6736(20)31142-9
'We did a systematic review of 172 observational studies in health-
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care and non-health-care settings across 16 countries and six continents... Physical distancing of 1 m or more was associated with a much lower risk of infection, as was use of face masks (including N95 respirators or similar and surgical or similar masks [eg, 12–16-layer cotton or gauze masks]) and eye protection (eg, goggles or face shields)...'
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22 April 2022, This document provides updated interim recommendations on the use of masks by health workers providing care to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. This update is prompted by new evidence around mask use and COVID-19 transmi
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ssion, as well as the emergence of variants of concern including Omicron. Masks continue to be a critical tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These interim guidelines supersede the recommendations provided in the WHO recommendations on mask use by health workers, in light of the Omicron variant of concern published on 22 December 2022.
WHO continually evaluates the emerging evidence and will review these interim recommendations within two months and issue new guidance as needed.
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This document aims to provide advice on the use of cloth face masks and sterilisation of respirators and surgical masks as an alternative in healthcare settings with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
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cases if there is a shortage of specialised surgical masks and respirators.
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Wearing a face mask can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community by reducing the release of respiratory droplets from asymptomatic / pre-symptomatic individuals or those with mild non-specific symptoms. The use of face masks for this purp
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ose may be adopted to reduce the societal impact associated with absence from work or healthcare pressures due to infection, or to protect vulnerable individuals in particular settings.
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Update 1 October 2020.
This document provides guidance to Member States on the effective use of face masks/coverings in the community by individuals without COVID-19 symptoms in order to reduce potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2.a It also provid
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es advice on the use of masks during home care for patients with COVID-19.
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A manual on homemade masks
This guide is designed to provide a simple outline of best practices to make, use and reuse masks to enable NGOs and individuals to self-create such
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masks and accelerate widespread adoption of masks across India.
The key criteria for proposed designs are:
Ease of Access to Materials
Easy of Making at Home
Ease of Use and Reuse
Wearing of masks is especially recommended for people living in densely populated areas across India
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This document draws on scientific evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and from prior public health research on behaviour change, with the purpose of empowering African Union Member States to promote widespread adoption of masks in the general popula
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tion. This document complements existing Africa CDC technical guidance on the community use of face masks.
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J Hosp Infect. 2020 Apr 8. pii: S0195-6701(20)30176-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.04.001. [Epub ahead of print]
21 August 2020
This guidance provides specific considerations for the use of non-medical masks, also known as fabric masks, by children as a means for source control in the context of the current C
...
OVID-19 pandemic. It also advises on the use of medical masks for children under certain conditions.
more
“Wearing masks is important. We want to recommend widespread use of masks. We are recommending that people can use cloth masks, just make sure th
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ere’s a three layer kind of thing.”Dr Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Health
available in: Xitsonga, Tshivenda, Siswati, Setswana, Sesotho, Sepedi, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isi Ndebele, Afrikaans
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Lancet Respir Med 2020Published OnlineMarch 20, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30134-
This experimental study, demonstrated that medical masks and N95 masks remained their blocking efficacy after being steamed on boiling water even for 2 hours, using avian coronavirus of infectious b
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ronchitis virus to mimic SARS-CoV-2. Results demonstrated that three brands of medical masks blocked over 99% viruses in aerosols. The avian coronavirus was completely inactivated after being steamed for 5 minutes.
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Annex. This document is an update of a guidance published on 12 July 2021, after the review of new scientific evidence on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC). It contains updated recommendations on the use of masks and respirators
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for health workers providing care to suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
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The purpose of this document is to give correct evidence based information to general public on use of mask.
Almost all organizations recommend masks for the general public. Unfortunately, earlier in the pandemic, many did exactly the opposite – due to limited data but also due to concerns about diminished mask supply for healthcare workers and out of fe
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ar that masked individuals might be tempted to ignore rules of social distancing. In addition, conflicting national guidelines have led to variable public compliance. A few physicians, in line with some COVidiots, still argue against face masks
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