Should everyone in hospital have to wear a mask?
Masks should be made compulsory for all patients and visitors to hospitals to ensure the best protection for healthcare practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic, two US doctors say.
Dr Lee Fleisher and Dr Renyu Liu of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, argue that although wearing a mask does not necessarily protect someone from contracting the virus, a mask policy prevents people from spreading it.
Since SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by asymptomatic people, everyone should wear masks.
They say staff in ED, wards and intensive care units have taken extra steps to protect themselves. And now non-coronavirus patients and non-medical staff should do the same,