Canada’s chief public health officer now says that wearing a non-medical mask can help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Canada’s chief public health officer now says that wearing a non-medical mask can help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Theresa Tam, the top doctor at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said today that Canadians can use non-medical masks in tandem with social distancing measures to limit the transmission of the deadly virus when out grocery shopping or at a pharmacy.
The recommendation represents an about-face for the public health officer — who until now has resisted the idea of non-health care professionals wearing masks.
“Wearing a non-medical mask is an additional measure that you can take to protect others around you,” Tam said — while warning that a non-medical mask doesn’t necessarily protect the person wearing it.
“A non-medical mask can reduce the chance of your respiratory droplets coming into contact with others or landing on surfaces,” Tam said.
Watch: Dr. Theresa Tam discusses non-medical mask use
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr Theresa Tam spoke with reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday 2:21
Tam has long maintained that masks should be reserved for the sick among us, and for doctors and nurses working in hospitals.
“It can sometimes make it worse, if the person puts their finger in their eye or touches their face under their mask,” Tam said in January during a teleconference wi