* Healthcare Delivery

Spread the word: save the masks for healthcare workers

   [large_-sELWjm23NQ0wfCysc0VI4jR5c21GVrixk7IA2IxRSQ.jpg] A nurse in a
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   (COVID-19) at the Regional Hospital Center in Liege, Belgium March 11,
   2020. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RC2QHF98SI02
   The COVID-19 pandemic is made worse by the mask shortage, which puts
   healthcare workers at greater risk.
   Image: REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
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   d62e20f358bb1e6c5bf9ca.svg]
     * The COVID-19 pandemic is made worse by shortages of critical
       supplies, like test kits and protective medical masks.
     * WHO says only healthcare providers, people who are ill and those
       who are caring for the ill need to wear a mask.
     * Members of the general public with no symptoms do not need to wear
       a mask.

   The world should have seen this coming.
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   Here what the WHO is telling the private sector members of the PSCN,
   and what we know from direct experience: people are hoarding the
   all-important masks that protect front-line healthcare workers
   combatting the virus.

   This can’t continue.
   [_BtlHmjxZM-JCH0BKZuOMDlxYXapgYL7SUDNqOR01jc.jpeg] Americans Are
   Hoarding Face Masks
   Americans are hoarding medical face masks, which are most critical for
   healthcare workers.
   Image: Statista/Nielsen Retail Measurement Services

   We all must help by spreading the word from the WHO that the only
   people who should wear a mask are healthcare providers, people who are
   ill and those who are caring for the ill. Public health experts advise
   that a mask is not required if a person is exhibiting no symptoms. The
   shortage of masks is making it harder for front-line responders to
   contain the outbreak, which only increases the risk for everyone else.

   Truth be told, many individuals and companies who are neither
   healthcare providers nor suppliers to healthcare workers are stocking
   up on masks for their own use. It’s understandable, of course, and
   perhaps even admirable in its intent, but absolutely incorrect from a
   public health perspective, especially given the lack of proven efficacy
   of masks for the general public.

   Think of it this way: Imagine a liter of water spilled in the center of
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   along the perimeter of the room and wait for the water to get there.

   But that’s essentially what we’re doing when we buy masks for use by
   healthy individuals rather than conserving masks for the brave
   healthcare workers at the center of the fight. This virus is so
   contagious that healthcare workers all over the world are developing
   skin rashes, falling ill with COVID-19, some tragically dying, when
   compelled by shortages to wear the same mask for entire days, even
   multiple days.

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COVID-19: UK supermarkets call for police to enforce mask wearing

   James Davey · Reuters 18 Jan 2021