Measures to contain the disease spread require two things:
1. Limiting the contacts of positive cases via physical
distancing,efficient contact tracing and adequate quarantine.
2. Reducing the probability of transmission per contact by wearing masks
in public.
In addition to hand hygiene and physical distancing,guidelines for
mandatory mask-wearing in public could prove to be a simple,effective
and accessible way,to prevent disease transmission from asymptomatic
carriers to healthy individuals.
Population compliance plays a key role when it comes to masks.For
example,Vietnam- a densely populated country sharing its border with
China, with relatively inferior economic and technological capacity, has
had a commendable response to the outbreak. With a total of 288
confirmed cases, 249 recoveries and no deaths, it has set an example for
the world. A Habitual mask wearing population,early
intervention,vigorous quarantine policies and complete contact tracing
has helped Vietnam in effectively combatting COVID-19.There have been
many concerns regarding the use of masks by the general population
including a false sense of protection,associated stigma,increased
chances of infection due to repeated adjusting and rampant causing an
eventual shortage of masks for the healthcare workers.[6]