Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the country’s citizens to wear face masks in public in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
In a televised address to the nation, Mr Netanyahu told people they could make improvised masks if needed.
Wearing face masks is compulsory in some countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while Austria has told people to wear them in supermarkets.
But in many other parts of the world, including the UK and the US, it’s still perfectly acceptable to walk around bare-faced.
However US health authorities are now debating whether to recommend face coverings for everyone when they go out in public. US media say a CDC internal memo says even simple cloth masks could help reduce transmission.
Since the start of the outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said people only need to wear face masks in two situations:
1. if they are sick and showing symptoms 2. or if they are caring for people who are suspected to have coronavirus
However, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the organisation continued “to gather all available evidence and to evaluate the potential use of masks more broadly to control Covid-19 transmission at the community level”.
Source: bbc.com