the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security following recent announcements that the US CDC is considering recommendations for the general public to wear masks or face coverings, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) published a commentary written by two doctors from the University of Illinois at Chicago that discourages universal mask use for the general public. The authors identify several potential pitfalls for such a policy without sufficient benefit. They argue that there is insufficient evidence these masks reduce transmission among the general public, that such recommendations could reduce healthcare worker access to surgical masks, and that wider use of masks could lead the general public to relax social distancing measures unnecessarily due to a false sense of security from the masks. The article comes amid media reports that some hospitals are discouraging or prohibiting personnel from wearing masks and other PPE when not treating patients, due in part to ongoing supply shortages. These policies have received pushback from some clinicians who feel they require the additional protection while at work, and other hospitals have implemented mandatory universal mask policies.
