At the start of the pandemic, one of the most persistent questions asked was whether people should protect themselves and others by wearing some form of face covering. Now that the threat of COVID has largely receded, whenever infection numbers start to climb there are loud calls to instruct people to wear face coverings again. The issue of masks, which in reality should be taken as shorthand for face coverings of all sorts, is one that too often creates more heat than light. Compelling people to change their behaviour to reduce the number of COVID infections might not be without some sort of cost in terms of public confidence. Simon Clarke, Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology, University of ReadingThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Source: The Star August 25, 2023 14:11 UTC