Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson were criticized for wearing face masks early in the pandemic. Here's what changed.
Advertisement
Canela López
Jul 8, 2020, 01:51 IST
Gwyneth Paltrow tries out Flow Alkaline Spring Water's Latest Augmented Reality Grocery Experience at ExpoWest at Anaheim Convention Center on March 06, 2019 in Anaheim, California.Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Flow Alkaline Water
But as the novel coronavirus spread across the globe, the Centers for Disease Control shifted its stance on face coverings to instead urge all people in the US to wear masks in public spaces.
Face coverings have become a symbol of the coronavirus pandemic. While they aren't perfect, even DIY cloth masks offer a layer of protection against virus spread.
"It's like a civic duty," Elaine Shuo Feng, an Oxford epidemiologist and statistician, previously told Business Insider. "People wear the mask to protect themselves and also protect others."
Cloth masks, which do not contribute to the shortage of necessary medical supplies, were not yet recommended by any health agency to help prevent the virus.
"There is no black or white answer and no silver bullet," Tedros said.
While the WHO recommends citizens follow their countries' individual guidelines for mask usage, the organization emphasizes that N95 respirators need to be saved for medical professionals since they're still in low supply.
"The public-health community — and many people were saying this — were concerned that it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply," Fauci said.
Though cloth masks aren't perfect, there is research showing they help minimize virus spread, which is better than taking no preventative measures at all.
Some of the celebrities who sported face coverings did contribute to the PPE shortage. But it's now clear that masks are, in fact, a crucial tool for battling the pandemic.
{{}}
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.