August 25, 2020
Mask wearing the new normal
A member of Māori pandemic response group Te Rōpu Whakakaupapa Uruta says people need to get used to mask wearing as the new normal.
From Monday masks or facial coverings will be mandatory on all busses, trains and taxis.
Dr Rawiri Jansen says masks are issued to patients coming to his clinic at Papakura Marae, if they don’t already have him, and the other office he works now has people masked up all the time.
He says a trial out of Italy of smart masks showed how they could be effective.
"They were proximity sensors and then people were randomised into wearing masks, not wearing masks, and if you wear a mask people give you more distance, that is really important, and the other thing is there is a lot of evidence that it reduces the distance of our repiratory moisture particles, our cough, it reduces the distance of that," Dr Jansen says.
The fact the latest COVID-19 outbreak has mainly affected Pasifika and Māori whānau highlights the concerns Te Rōpu Whakakaupapa Uruta has been raising about the pandemic response, and there need to be changes made before the inevitable third outbreak to take account of difference cultural and economic conditions.
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