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Whānau are being warned against masks which make them feel a false sense of security about coronavirus infection.
South Auckland GP Dr Rawiri Jansen says people may feel safer if they have a mask on, but the science isn’t that simple.
In this right circumstances masks are essential personal protective equipment, but some masks he sees, including homemade face coverings, seem purely cosmetic.
"I think you definitely want to see those in the right place and the right time in terms of health providers or home care providers. We want to see them to be safe and using proper masks. As soon as we start going into kind of made up masks, I think not that safe. The risk is they make people feel safe when they are not really safe," he says.
Dr Jansen says what will make people safer is remembering the basics of washing hands regularly and often for 20 seconds, coughing or sneezing into your elbow and keeping two metres from others.
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