A few weeks ago, WHO, the organization which has proved completely clueless and incompetent in fight against Coronavirus, has argued that everyone does not need to wear mask.
As per WHO guidelines, only those infected with the virus need to wear masks to prevent the spread, but the general population need not wear mask. But this guideline, like many other guidelines of the WHO, seems illogical and counter-intuitive. Given the fact there are many asymptotic patients carrying the virus, it is far more wise to wear mask than to not wear it.
And now many research publications have argued that mask is actually an effective tool to control the infectious disease. Also, data from countries like Czech Republic, Slovakia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, support the claim. The countries which made masks mandatory (Czech Republic, Slovakia), and the countries which distributed masks to public so that no one comes out without a mask, have very, very low rate of infections.
“This is the strongest statistical association I’ve seen w/ respect to the virus. Wear a mask, mandate others to wear masks, & remember that @WHO is criminally incompetent. To repeat: @WHO is criminally incompetent. PS-Don’t get into elevators, buses, etc. unless your mask in N95,” tweeted Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a philosopher of complexity theory who has argued lockdown and masks as best solution to prevents spread of the disease from day one, with a graphic which clearly supports the claim.
This is the strongest statistical association I've seen w/ respect to the virus. Wear a mask, mandate others to wear masks, & remember that @WHO is criminally incompetent. To repeat:@WHO is criminally incompetent.
PS-Don't get into elevators, buses, etc. unless your mask in N95 https://t.co/ZCkl3hql9K
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) March 31, 2020
However, so far, the criminally incompetent WHO has maintained that masks are not necessary for those who are not infected, in order to save whatever respect left for the organization among the semi-informed people.
“There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit. In fact, there’s some evidence to suggest the opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, said at a media briefing in Geneva, Switzerland.
Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros. #coronavirus https://t.co/TaP7YsqSaB
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 30, 2020
To defend itself, the organization said that there is a global shortage of masks and the equipment needs to be prioritized for health workers.
“There also is the issue that we have a massive global shortage,” Ryan said about masks and other medical supplies. “Right now the people most at risk from this virus are frontline health workers who are exposed to the virus every second of every day. The thought of them not having masks is horrific.”
But this argument by WHO falls flat on facts, as the basic prototype of mask, for which the Indian government has capped the price at 10 rupees, could be made at home, too. Media organizations like The New York Times even published articles on how one can make masks at home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/coronavirus-n95-mask.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/health/cdc-masks-coronavirus.html
Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organization, ‘tweeting in personal capacity’, subtly supported wearing of mask by everyone. “Interview with George Gao, head of China CDC. Not wearing masks to protect against coronavirus is a ‘big mistake,’ top Chinese scientist says,” tweeted Swaminathan with an interview of Chinese scientist published in Sciencemag.org.
Interview with George Gao, head of China CDC. Not wearing masks to protect against coronavirus is a ‘big mistake,’ top Chinese scientist says https://t.co/FUIK9KuXod
— Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) March 29, 2020
But the politics of WHO is not allowing the organization to accept it in public that masks are necessary to prevent infection. WHO is so criminally incompetent that it is ready to risk the life of the people to maintain its public image. The lethargic bureaucracy at WHO, which spends more money on travel than distribution of equipments to needy, has failed humanity, which it vowed to protect. In order to serve Chinese interests, the organization risked life billions of people, and thousands of already died with lakhs infected. The organization should banned right at moment, as so far, it has done more harm than good in fight against Corona.
