Medical masks or fabric masks: WHO shares guidelines on who should wear what

Amid rapid increase in COVID-19 cases daily, health portals and experts are urging people to not let go of their masks besides taking other precautions.

World Health Organization (WHO) recently shared some guidelines on wearing medical and fabric masks — who should wear them, when and how.

Medical or surgical masks

In a video shared on Twitter, WHO advised that these types of masks should be worn by:

*Health workers
*People who have COVID-19 symptoms
*Those who look after someone suspected or confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19

In areas where the virus is known to be widespread and social distancing of at least one metre is difficult to maintain, medical masks should be worn by:

*People who are aged 60 or above
*People with underlying health conditions

😷Masks during #COVID19: Who should wear them, when and how ⬇️pic.twitter.com/wCCaZu79PB

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 18, 2021

Fabric masks

These masks emerged as a supplement at a time when the world experienced a shortage of medical masks, with many taking up the job of making this protective equipment from cloth at home.

WHO advised that fabric masks can be worn by those who do not have COVID-19 symptoms. This includes people who are in close contact with social workers, cashiers and servers.

Fabric masks should also be worn in busy public settings like public transport, workplaces, grocery stores and other crowded environments.

Meanwhile, India reported a total of 1,50,61,919 COVID-19 cases till April 19, of which there are 19,29,329 active cases.