Scientists in the United Kingdom are calling for people to wear homemade face masks made of a T-shirt and kitchen paper in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The UK currently has more than 130,000 confirmed cases of the virus, with the death toll standing at over 17,000.
The country's government has been accused by many of not doing enough to combat the deadly disease, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself contracting the illness and spending time in hospital in the ICU.
Now, a number of scientists who say the Government's policy on face masks does not do enough to stop the virus' spread are encouraging people to make their own masks and to wear them when outside in public spaces.
Sian Griffiths, a professor who led the Hong Kong government's investigation into the SARS outbreak, said that Britain should follow advice given by the US' Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and recommended everyone venturing out into public to wear a mask, reports The Guardian.
Officials in the US first advised healthy people against wearing a mask, due in part to the fact that people were more likely to touch their face to make adjustments to the mask, and end up putting themselves at a greater risk of infection.
But as more evidence came to light showing COVID-19 was being spread by people showing no symptoms of the virus, the CDC changed its advice and recommended masks be worn ,even if they were nonmedical masks.
"The CDC advice in the US is pragmatic," The Guardian reported Prof Griffiths as saying. "It recognises both the need to ensure the supply of masks for clinical situations where they are obviously needed at the same time as recognising that there could potentially be benefits in wearing 'masks' in public to prevent passing on the infection."
Trish Greenhalgh, a professor of primary care health sciences at Oxford University, said if people did not have a proper mask available they could make their own mask using an old T-shirt combined with kitchen paper.
She said homemade masks could dramatically reduce the amount of droplets spraying from people's mouths, and hence play a role in stopping the spread of COVID-19.
"We should be covering our faces with homespun materials like cotton. Medical-grade masks are scratchy and uncomfortable. Your old T-shirt is soft and nice, and with a couple of layers of kitchen paper inside a double layer, it will reduce the droplets coming out of your mouth and nose by about 95 percent" she said.
By making their own masks, the public would be helping to avoid placing even more strain on the health care system by using essential medical supplies needed by frontline staff, she said.
Earlier this month, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, New Zealand's Director-General of Health, said he was following the CDC's review in to masks "very closely", hinting that New Zealand could also change its official advice based on the investigation.
However, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health told Newshub on Wednesday that New Zealand continues to follow advice from the World Health Organization, which states that only people who are sick or dealing with sick people should use masks.
"As there are current shortages worldwide of masks, the use of medical masks by the general public who are not sick or not caring for someone who is sick, will exacerbate these shortages and in some places in the world this may result in health professionals being put in real danger," the spokesperson said.
The Ministry of Health has also advised against wearing masks for the "false sense of security" it can bring.
"In many countries individuals who are unwell often wear a mask when they go out. There is evidence that can be good practice particularly for protecting others.
"However, there is also some evidence that wearing a mask can also do harm such as when it leads to people touching their face more often due to discomfort. That can increase the risk of contamination from your hand and wearing a mask can give a false sense of security."
