industry & reform
Masking the problem
The arguments around the efficacy of masks in helping stop the spread of COVID-19 .
Nick Talley interviewed by Conor Burke
The coronavirus outbreak in
Melbourne , and now spreading to New South Wales , has thrown the nation ’ s seemingly smooth recovery from COVID-19 up in the air . Lockdown measures have been in place for weeks and we ’ re now having conversations about how we will live with this virus long term .
Nowhere are these conversations more fractured than over the use of masks by the public as a measure to slow the spread of the virus . There is debate about their efficacy , and mixed government messaging is compounding the confusion .
One mask advocate is Professor Nick Talley , editor of the Medical Journal of Australia , and he joined Aged Care Insite to discuss the merits of mask use and whether they should be made mandatory nationwide .
ACI : What is your position on mask use in the fight against COVID-19 ? NT : Mask use alone is not the answer , but I do believe that adding masks to social distancing and hand hygiene and so forth is critically important . The
18 agedcareinsite . com . au evidence supports it and it needs to be widespread .
The real issue is if only a few people wear masks . If most people wear masks when they ’ re out and about in outbreak areas , there is good evidence that there are real added benefits .
Why is there such anger and confusion over the use of masks ? I think there have been confusing public health messages . To be honest , the data was not clear at the beginning of this new virus . It behaves a little bit differently to other similar viruses . So it ’ s been difficult to know what should be the best advice . And indeed , some people still don ’ t believe masks add very much value , but the bulk of evidence really has firmed up to support the use of masks . There ’ s lots of both direct and indirect evidence , and I think that ’ s part of the problem .
In Victoria mask use is recommended all around the state , but in Melbourne and related areas where the outbreak is , it ’ s compulsory . I would argue in New South Wales , with its continued bubbling along of cases , which is very worrying , widespread use of masks in the outbreak area would be pretty reasonable .
Is there any other area of public health messaging that has been so mixed and poor ? Doesn ’ t that undermine the rest of the nation ’ s efforts ? It ’ s certainly not been ideal and I would have argued consistency and keeping it as simple as possible really matters . The data ’ s pretty clear and the modelling ’ s clear . If 70 , 80 per cent of the population wear cloth masks and masks are about 70 per cent effective , which is about what the data says , then indeed , it really makes a very significant difference to transmission according to the information that we have .
The messaging needs to be : as many people as possible need to wear masks when you ’ re out and about . It ’ s really valuable to wear masks .
Schools are a complex issue , but where possible , yes , one could argue wearing masks in that setting where you ’ re in enclosed spaces for prolonged periods , that would reduce transmission .
The social distancing remains so critical , but masks promote social distancing , and that ’ s one of the value adds of masks . It ’ s not just the physical barrier .
One other point to make is masks work primarily for preventing an infected person transmitting , less so for preventing you from catching it . So if the infected people aren ’ t wearing masks there ’ s a real problem , even if you are . So that ’ s the message .