A policeman in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) shot a student for not wearing a mask while filming on the streets of the capital city.

The victim&nbsp;was a student at the University of Kinshasa who was shooting the streets of the capital city for a practical work project when he was shot by a policeman.

"Our friend Honore Shama, a student in the faculty of arts at the University of Kinshasa, was filming a video as part of his acting practical work requirement," Patient Odia, a friend who was present at the confrontation, told AFP. "A policeman told him to wear a mask during the filming."

Apparently, the student had offered his explanation to the police officer, who still shot the student after he got frustrated, probably after he was not offered money.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-mountain-made-of-gold-rich-ores-found-in-dr-congo-locals-rush-in-with-shovels-368750">WATCH |</a>

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"Despite his (Shama's) explanations and after having shown him a mask, the policeman, who was expecting to be offered money, became infuriated, accused him of resisting and shot him at point-blank range,"&nbsp;the witness claimed.

The story of several witnesses recounted the same narration, which was featured on a local radio channel.

After the incident, the policeman has reportedly fled the city, but two other officers who were present at the scene have been detained.

"Police have detained two police officers, present during the incident provoked by their irresponsible colleague... as well as the head," General Sylvano Kasongo, the head of Kinshasa police said. "The search continues to find the fugitive policeman."

DR Congo follows a strict policy when it comes to mask wearing. Anyone found flouting the rules is fined $5 (10,000 Congolese Frances). However, several locals have complained of police officers harassing them to collect money.

A policeman in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) shot a student for not wearing a mask while filming on the streets of the capital city. The victim was a student at the University of Kinshasa who was shooting the streets of the capital city for a practical work project when he was shot by a policeman.

A policeman in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) shot a student for not wearing a mask while filming on the streets of the capital city. The victim was a student at the University of Kinshasa who was shooting the streets of the capital city for a practical work project when he was shot by a policeman. "Our friend Honore Shama, a student in the faculty of arts at the University of Kinshasa, was filming a video as part of his acting practical work requirement," Patient Odia, a friend who was present at the confrontation, told AFP. "A policeman told him to wear a mask during the filming." Apparently, the student had offered his explanation to the police officer, who still shot the student after he got frustrated, probably after he was not offered money. WATCH | "Despite his (Shama's) explanations and after having shown him a mask, the policeman, who was expecting to be offered money, became infuriated, accused him of resisting and shot him at point-blank range," the witness claimed. The story of several witnesses recounted the same narration, which was featured on a local radio channel. After the incident, the policeman has reportedly fled the city, but two other officers who were present at the scene have been detained. "Police have detained two police officers, present during the incident provoked by their irresponsible colleague... as well as the head," General Sylvano Kasongo, the head of Kinshasa police said. "The search continues to find the fugitive policeman." DR Congo follows a strict policy when it comes to mask wearing. Anyone found flouting the rules is fined $5 (10,000 Congolese Frances). However, several locals have complained of police officers harassing them to collect money.

DR Congo: Policeman shoots student for not wearing mask

In a report published by the researchers of Florida Atlantic University has claimed that people wearing face masks and shields may not be as safe as they assume.

The researchers used&nbsp;vertical and horizontal laser sheets to track the tiny droplets of water with glycerin and found that the droplets spread&nbsp;from a hollow mannequin head which was fitted with a plastic face shield and a breathing valve on it. While the face shield was able to initially block the droplets while moving forward, the&nbsp;expelled droplets moved around the visor and spread across a wider area.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/coronavirus-can-be-killed-efficiently-quickly-and-cheaply-using-uv-leds-study-349930">Coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using UV-LEDs: Study</a>

For the mask with a fitted valve for breathing, "a large number of droplets pass through the exhale valve unfiltered, which make it ineffective in stopping the spread the COVID-19 virus if the person wearing the mask is infected," the report said.

This research has proved that while these face shields and visors are more comfortable and advertised to be safer, the droplets can easily move around the surface and spread across.&nbsp;

Also read|<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/first-case-of-coronavirus-among-wild-mink-reported-in-us-349860">&nbsp;First case of coronavirus among wild mink reported in US</a>

It was, through experiments, concluded that while these visors and shields are more comfortable, the plain-designed medical/surgical masks or the thick-clothed masks are better equipped to protect people from getting infected by the novel coronavirus through others — or affecting others.

This study has come out as the world is turning towards the approved coronavirus vaccines with a second wave of the deadly taking over numerous countries all over the world.

In a report published by the researchers of Florida Atlantic University has claimed that people wearing face masks and shields may not be as safe as they assume.

In a report published by the researchers of Florida Atlantic University has claimed that people wearing face masks and shields may not be as safe as they assume. The researchers used vertical and horizontal laser sheets to track the tiny droplets of water with glycerin and found that the droplets spread from a hollow mannequin head which was fitted with a plastic face shield and a breathing valve on it. While the face shield was able to initially block the droplets while moving forward, the expelled droplets moved around the visor and spread across a wider area. Also read| Coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using UV-LEDs: Study For the mask with a fitted valve for breathing, "a large number of droplets pass through the exhale valve unfiltered, which make it ineffective in stopping the spread the COVID-19 virus if the person wearing the mask is infected," the report said. This research has proved that while these face shields and visors are more comfortable and advertised to be safer, the droplets can easily move around the surface and spread across. Also read| First case of coronavirus among wild mink reported in US It was, through experiments, concluded that while these visors and shields are more comfortable, the plain-designed medical/surgical masks or the thick-clothed masks are better equipped to protect people from getting infected by the novel coronavirus through others — or affecting others. This study has come out as the world is turning towards the approved coronavirus vaccines with a second wave of the deadly taking over numerous countries all over the world.

Face shields and visors can spread coronavirus: Study

With the coronavirus on the march through much of the United States, scientists are urging Americans to adopt the few health measures shown to slow the virus: universal mask use, social distancing, good ventilation indoors and hand hygiene.

Mask-wearing has become a particularly divisive — and partisan — issue over the past few months. Still, faced with a surge in cases, 40 states, including recent holdouts like Iowa and North Dakota, now have put mask requirements in place.

Among public health experts, there is near-unanimous endorsement of universal mask mandates to shield people from the virus and slow the pandemic.

“The more people who wear a mask, the more the community is protected and therefore the more you individually benefit,” said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 response program. “It’s like a herd effect.”

Brooks is the architect of a recent agency bulletin saying that masks benefit wearers, not just those around them. Increasing the proportion of people who wear masks by 15% could prevent the need for lockdowns and cut economic losses that may reach $1 trillion, about 5% of gross domestic product, the CDC said.

“If it can’t help us avert the shutdowns that are happening, it can certainly help us come down the backside of this peak and then keep things down,” Brooks said.

Other experts were careful to note that masks cannot work in isolation. “Controlling community spread of COVID-19 and protecting individuals requires a multitiered approach,” said John Volckens, a public health engineer at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

In August, Volckens organized a workshop for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on ways to prevent airborne transmission of the virus. “Masks are a critical part of that approach,” he said. “That is definitely the consensus among scientists.”

So what is the evidence supporting mask use? And what about that Danish study questioning whether masks protect the wearer? We asked experts to weigh in on the latest evidence.

There are masks — and masks.

The term mask refers to any kind of protective facial covering, but its effectiveness depends greatly on the type. The gold standard is the N95 respirator which, as its name suggests, can block 95% of harmful particles a wearer might breathe in or out. Surgical masks are also highly effective at filtering these particles.

But experts say only health care workers require gold-standard protection. Doctors and nurses work closely with infected patients for prolonged periods, which significantly increases their risk of infection with the coronavirus, Brooks noted.

The average person, on the other hand, is exposed to much less virus and less often, and so can be protected with a well-made cloth covering, Brooks said. The best cloth face coverings, which have multiple layers that can trap viral particles — the thickest are mostly impervious to light — are as effective as surgical masks in some circumstances.

Cloth masks are also reusable and durable, and even after regular washings, they maintain their effectiveness. N95s and surgical masks are usually worn once and “end up in a landfill,” Brooks said.

Masks prevent infected people from spreading the virus.

It’s indisputable that N95 respirators and surgical masks prevent pathogens from infecting others — one reason doctors have traditionally worn surgical masks to protect their patients.

There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings, too, stop virus expelled by an infected person when breathing, talking, singing or shouting — controlling the spread at the source.

This discovery became especially important once scientists learned that people who don’t even feel symptoms may spread the virus. More than 50% of all infections may be transmitted by asymptomatic people.

Apart from epidemiological studies showing that mask use is high in countries that have successfully controlled the virus, mask mandates have been shown to significantly slow the virus in U.S. states and in health care settings, Volckens said.

Masks protect the wearer, although how efficiently is still unclear.

All kinds of masks offer the wearer some degree of protection, multiple studies have shown. Exactly how much protection is not yet clear.

“The protection for the wearer is not 100%,” Dr. Leana Wen, the former assistant health commissioner of Baltimore, said of cloth masks. “That’s also why universal masking is important, because we need the people who are infected to be wearing it.”

N95 masks are thought to be the most effective in this regard, followed by surgical masks. But evidence for benefit from cloth masks is scarce.

“There haven’t been good studies on protecting the wearer,” said Linsey Marr, an expert at Virginia Tech on the airborne transmission of viruses. Still, she added, most researchers assume cloth masks provide at least some protection.

Some of the studies on wearer protection were conducted in labs under ideal conditions, or with mannequins, which does not capture more realistic situations in which people wear masks inconsistently or incorrectly.

Still, in one such study, a mask made of four layers of tightly woven surgical gauze prevented transmission more effectively when worn by both parties than when worn only by an infected person, Brooks said.

“They worked best together, and the cloth masks performed essentially as well as surgical masks,” he said. “When you’re wearing a mask, you’re protecting others as well as yourself.”

It’s harder to study masks than drugs or vaccines.

Critics of mask-wearing measures have long demanded a randomized clinical trial that establishes their effectiveness. But while such trials are the standard for drugs and vaccines, they are not ideal for evaluating behaviors subject to people’s recall, experts said.

“Show me the clinical trials that showed the efficacy of hand washing,” Volckens said. “And I think we all agree that smoking causes cancer and is bad for you — does that mean that we can’t believe that smoking causes cancer because there isn’t a clinical trial?”

Most studies on cloth face coverings have been observational and looked at whether their use stopped the spread at a community level. The CDC’s latest bulletin on masks lists several such studies confirming the benefit of universal masking mandates.

In one study, two masked hair stylists had symptoms but did not transmit the virus to any of their 67 masked clients. In another, face coverings seemed to reduce risk of infection by 70% during an outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

It’s particularly difficult to assess a mask’s benefit to the wearer because “you’ve got to be able to measure what’s behind the mask and what’s getting through the mask into their mouth,” Marr said.

A Danish study published Wednesday was a randomized clinical trial assessing whether a mask protected wearers. It found no statistically significant effect. But the study has serious limitations, experts said: It was conducted when community transmission in Denmark was low, and masks were far from the norm.

“It didn’t get at this communitywide effect,” Volckens said.

The numbers in the study were small, and only half of the mask-wearing subjects reported doing so as strictly as recommended. Even those who wore them regularly would not have worn them at restaurants, bars, gyms or in their homes — settings responsible for the majority of spread in a community, Marr noted.

“It’s hard to do these studies in real life,” she said.

The study still found a 15% protection for the wearer, although the figure was not statistically significant. But it may be an underestimate, Marr and other researchers said.

“I still think masks are the most cheap, effective, versatile intervention that we can have if social distancing is not possible or variable, or if indoor ventilation is poor,” said Julian Tang, honorary professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.

Over time, recommendations on masks have changed. That’s how science works.

The CDC has been criticized for an about-face on masks since the beginning of the pandemic, when it urged only symptomatic people to wear them. The agency did not recommend universal use of face coverings until April. (The World Health Organization was even later, issuing its endorsement in July.)

The agency was reluctant to recommend masks at first because it worried about a run on the high-quality masks needed for health care workers, Marr said. “I think it took time to realize that there’s different objectives in the health care setting versus in the community,” she said.

It is natural when dealing with an unknown virus for recommendations to change significantly over time, Wen said. “We know a lot more now, and I think we should acknowledge that we were wrong,” she said.

Still, changes in guidance should be seen as a sign that the policy is following the latest science, she added.

“Somehow that change has been framed by some people as public health experts not knowing what we’re doing,” Wen said. “But actually, we should see this change in guidance as part of the necessary evolution. That’s the cornerstone of a solid public health response.”

For example, it was not clear at first that the virus could be transmitted by air, especially indoors and by people without symptoms. So scientists assumed that the new coronavirus behaved like the coronaviruses causing SARS and MERS.

But the CDC was quick to recommend masks once it was clear that asymptomatic transmission was a big contributor, Brooks said: “Science changes. So do we, and so do our recommendations.”

Likewise, the agency initially recommended masks only to protect those near an infected person because “that’s where we had the earliest and clear data.” Now there is enough evidence to say that masks also benefit the wearer.

“Our guidance has not changed — we are recommending everybody wear masks,” he said. “What has changed is we can now give you a reason. a personal reason that will motivate people.”

Masks alone are not enough to stop the spread.

The experts all emphasized that mask use is just one tool that can slow the pandemic. Social distancing, ventilation and hand hygiene are also important.

“None of those is 100% effective by itself,” Marr said. “But when we combine them, then we can make a big dent in the risk of transmission.”

Masking is also among the easiest of community strategies to adopt, or should be, as states all over the country try to avert lockdowns, Brooks said: “We believe strongly that universal masking policies can help avert shutdowns.”

With the coronavirus on the march through much of the United States, scientists are urging Americans to adopt the few health measures shown to slow the virus: universal mask use, social distancing, good ventilation indoors and hand hygiene.

With the coronavirus on the march through much of the United States, scientists are urging Americans to adopt the few health measures shown to slow the virus: universal mask use, social distancing, good ventilation indoors and hand hygiene. Mask-wearing has become a particularly divisive — and partisan — issue over the past few months. Still, faced with a surge in cases, 40 states, including recent holdouts like Iowa and North Dakota, now have put mask requirements in place. Among public health experts, there is near-unanimous endorsement of universal mask mandates to shield people from the virus and slow the pandemic. “The more people who wear a mask, the more the community is protected and therefore the more you individually benefit,” said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 response program. “It’s like a herd effect.” Brooks is the architect of a recent agency bulletin saying that masks benefit wearers, not just those around them. Increasing the proportion of people who wear masks by 15% could prevent the need for lockdowns and cut economic losses that may reach $1 trillion, about 5% of gross domestic product, the CDC said. “If it can’t help us avert the shutdowns that are happening, it can certainly help us come down the backside of this peak and then keep things down,” Brooks said. Other experts were careful to note that masks cannot work in isolation. “Controlling community spread of COVID-19 and protecting individuals requires a multitiered approach,” said John Volckens, a public health engineer at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. In August, Volckens organized a workshop for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on ways to prevent airborne transmission of the virus. “Masks are a critical part of that approach,” he said. “That is definitely the consensus among scientists.” So what is the evidence supporting mask use? And what about that Danish study questioning whether masks protect the wearer? We asked experts to weigh in on the latest evidence. There are masks — and masks. The term mask refers to any kind of protective facial covering, but its effectiveness depends greatly on the type. The gold standard is the N95 respirator which, as its name suggests, can block 95% of harmful particles a wearer might breathe in or out. Surgical masks are also highly effective at filtering these particles. But experts say only health care workers require gold-standard protection. Doctors and nurses work closely with infected patients for prolonged periods, which significantly increases their risk of infection with the coronavirus, Brooks noted. The average person, on the other hand, is exposed to much less virus and less often, and so can be protected with a well-made cloth covering, Brooks said. The best cloth face coverings, which have multiple layers that can trap viral particles — the thickest are mostly impervious to light — are as effective as surgical masks in some circumstances. Cloth masks are also reusable and durable, and even after regular washings, they maintain their effectiveness. N95s and surgical masks are usually worn once and “end up in a landfill,” Brooks said. Masks prevent infected people from spreading the virus. It’s indisputable that N95 respirators and surgical masks prevent pathogens from infecting others — one reason doctors have traditionally worn surgical masks to protect their patients. There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings, too, stop virus expelled by an infected person when breathing, talking, singing or shouting — controlling the spread at the source. This discovery became especially important once scientists learned that people who don’t even feel symptoms may spread the virus. More than 50% of all infections may be transmitted by asymptomatic people. Apart from epidemiological studies showing that mask use is high in countries that have successfully controlled the virus, mask mandates have been shown to significantly slow the virus in U.S. states and in health care settings, Volckens said. Masks protect the wearer, although how efficiently is still unclear. All kinds of masks offer the wearer some degree of protection, multiple studies have shown. Exactly how much protection is not yet clear. “The protection for the wearer is not 100%,” Dr. Leana Wen, the former assistant health commissioner of Baltimore, said of cloth masks. “That’s also why universal masking is important, because we need the people who are infected to be wearing it.” N95 masks are thought to be the most effective in this regard, followed by surgical masks. But evidence for benefit from cloth masks is scarce. “There haven’t been good studies on protecting the wearer,” said Linsey Marr, an expert at Virginia Tech on the airborne transmission of viruses. Still, she added, most researchers assume cloth masks provide at least some protection. Some of the studies on wearer protection were conducted in labs under ideal conditions, or with mannequins, which does not capture more realistic situations in which people wear masks inconsistently or incorrectly. Still, in one such study, a mask made of four layers of tightly woven surgical gauze prevented transmission more effectively when worn by both parties than when worn only by an infected person, Brooks said. “They worked best together, and the cloth masks performed essentially as well as surgical masks,” he said. “When you’re wearing a mask, you’re protecting others as well as yourself.” It’s harder to study masks than drugs or vaccines. Critics of mask-wearing measures have long demanded a randomized clinical trial that establishes their effectiveness. But while such trials are the standard for drugs and vaccines, they are not ideal for evaluating behaviors subject to people’s recall, experts said. “Show me the clinical trials that showed the efficacy of hand washing,” Volckens said. “And I think we all agree that smoking causes cancer and is bad for you — does that mean that we can’t believe that smoking causes cancer because there isn’t a clinical trial?” Most studies on cloth face coverings have been observational and looked at whether their use stopped the spread at a community level. The CDC’s latest bulletin on masks lists several such studies confirming the benefit of universal masking mandates. In one study, two masked hair stylists had symptoms but did not transmit the virus to any of their 67 masked clients. In another, face coverings seemed to reduce risk of infection by 70% during an outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. It’s particularly difficult to assess a mask’s benefit to the wearer because “you’ve got to be able to measure what’s behind the mask and what’s getting through the mask into their mouth,” Marr said. A Danish study published Wednesday was a randomized clinical trial assessing whether a mask protected wearers. It found no statistically significant effect. But the study has serious limitations, experts said: It was conducted when community transmission in Denmark was low, and masks were far from the norm. “It didn’t get at this communitywide effect,” Volckens said. The numbers in the study were small, and only half of the mask-wearing subjects reported doing so as strictly as recommended. Even those who wore them regularly would not have worn them at restaurants, bars, gyms or in their homes — settings responsible for the majority of spread in a community, Marr noted. “It’s hard to do these studies in real life,” she said. The study still found a 15% protection for the wearer, although the figure was not statistically significant. But it may be an underestimate, Marr and other researchers said. “I still think masks are the most cheap, effective, versatile intervention that we can have if social distancing is not possible or variable, or if indoor ventilation is poor,” said Julian Tang, honorary professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Over time, recommendations on masks have changed. That’s how science works. The CDC has been criticized for an about-face on masks since the beginning of the pandemic, when it urged only symptomatic people to wear them. The agency did not recommend universal use of face coverings until April. (The World Health Organization was even later, issuing its endorsement in July.) The agency was reluctant to recommend masks at first because it worried about a run on the high-quality masks needed for health care workers, Marr said. “I think it took time to realize that there’s different objectives in the health care setting versus in the community,” she said. It is natural when dealing with an unknown virus for recommendations to change significantly over time, Wen said. “We know a lot more now, and I think we should acknowledge that we were wrong,” she said. Still, changes in guidance should be seen as a sign that the policy is following the latest science, she added. “Somehow that change has been framed by some people as public health experts not knowing what we’re doing,” Wen said. “But actually, we should see this change in guidance as part of the necessary evolution. That’s the cornerstone of a solid public health response.” For example, it was not clear at first that the virus could be transmitted by air, especially indoors and by people without symptoms. So scientists assumed that the new coronavirus behaved like the coronaviruses causing SARS and MERS. But the CDC was quick to recommend masks once it was clear that asymptomatic transmission was a big contributor, Brooks said: “Science changes. So do we, and so do our recommendations.” Likewise, the agency initially recommended masks only to protect those near an infected person because “that’s where we had the earliest and clear data.” Now there is enough evidence to say that masks also benefit the wearer. “Our guidance has not changed — we are recommending everybody wear masks,” he said. “What has changed is we can now give you a reason. a personal reason that will motivate people.” Masks alone are not enough to stop the spread. The experts all emphasized that mask use is just one tool that can slow the pandemic. Social distancing, ventilation and hand hygiene are also important. “None of those is 100% effective by itself,” Marr said. “But when we combine them, then we can make a big dent in the risk of transmission.” Masking is also among the easiest of community strategies to adopt, or should be, as states all over the country try to avert lockdowns, Brooks said: “We believe strongly that universal masking policies can help avert shutdowns.”

Confused about masks? Here's what scientists know

There seems to be no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic. And this implies face coverings -- of all kinds -- are here to stay.

Fashion brand Louis Vuitton has taken upon itself to make the mask and shield wearing business a little, if not much, stylish.

Louis Vuitton is set to release a luxury face shield that's designed to be "both stylish and protective," the French fashion house said in a statement.

The "eye-catching" LV Shield transitions from clear to dark in sunlight, protecting wearers from the sun. It also features golden studs engraved with Louis Vuitton's brand name and an elastic, monogrammed headband. The visor can also be worn upward as a classic peaked cap, according to the label.

The face shield will be sold online and at select Louis Vuitton stores starting on October 30. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Louis Vuitton joined the global effort to make personal protective equipment to support health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic in April.

There seems to be no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic. And this implies face coverings -- of all kinds -- are here to stay. Fashion brand Louis Vuitton has taken upon itself to make the mask and shield wearing business a little, if not much, stylish.

There seems to be no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic. And this implies face coverings -- of all kinds -- are here to stay. Fashion brand Louis Vuitton has taken upon itself to make the mask and shield wearing business a little, if not much, stylish. Louis Vuitton is set to release a luxury face shield that's designed to be "both stylish and protective," the French fashion house said in a statement. The "eye-catching" LV Shield transitions from clear to dark in sunlight, protecting wearers from the sun. It also features golden studs engraved with Louis Vuitton's brand name and an elastic, monogrammed headband. The visor can also be worn upward as a classic peaked cap, according to the label. The face shield will be sold online and at select Louis Vuitton stores starting on October 30. Pricing has not yet been announced. Louis Vuitton joined the global effort to make personal protective equipment to support health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic in April.

This fashion brand is releasing a coronavirus face shield with golden studs

The World Health Organization on Friday updated guidance on wearing facemasks during the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging their use in crowded situations in places where the new coronavirus is widespread.

As the deadly virus continues to spread, the WHO changed its stance on who should wear a mask, when it should be worn and what it should be made of.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-temporary-pause-who-to-resume-hydroxychloroquine-trials-303045">After 'temporary pause', WHO to resume hydroxychloroquine trials</a>

"Governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"In areas with community transmission, we advise that people aged 60 years or over, or those with underlying conditions, should wear a medical mask in situations where physical distancing is not possible," he added.

The WHO also issued new guidance on the composition of non-medical fabric masks, advising that they should consist of at least three layers of different material.

But Tedros stressed that masks were only one part of an effective strategy to suppress the virus and could lead people into a false sense of security.

He said they were not a replacement for physical distancing and hand hygiene.

"Masks alone will not protect you from COVID-19," he told a virtual news conference.

"Find, isolate, test and care for every case, and to trace and quarantine every contact. That is what we know works. That is every country's best defence against COVID-19."

The novel coronavirus has infected at least 6.6 million people and killed more than 390,000 since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP. 
&nbsp;

The World Health Organization on Friday updated guidance on wearing facemasks during the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging their use in crowded situations in places where the new coronavirus is widespread.

The World Health Organization on Friday updated guidance on wearing facemasks during the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging their use in crowded situations in places where the new coronavirus is widespread. As the deadly virus continues to spread, the WHO changed its stance on who should wear a mask, when it should be worn and what it should be made of. Also read | After 'temporary pause', WHO to resume hydroxychloroquine trials "Governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "In areas with community transmission, we advise that people aged 60 years or over, or those with underlying conditions, should wear a medical mask in situations where physical distancing is not possible," he added. The WHO also issued new guidance on the composition of non-medical fabric masks, advising that they should consist of at least three layers of different material. But Tedros stressed that masks were only one part of an effective strategy to suppress the virus and could lead people into a false sense of security. He said they were not a replacement for physical distancing and hand hygiene. "Masks alone will not protect you from COVID-19," he told a virtual news conference. "Find, isolate, test and care for every case, and to trace and quarantine every contact. That is what we know works. That is every country's best defence against COVID-19." The novel coronavirus has infected at least 6.6 million people and killed more than 390,000 since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

WHO updates guidelines on wearing masks

After virus China has now come up with designer mask to protect people from Covid-19.These designer masks are being sold in Beijing market as 16 dollar each.These masks are matches with your outfit. Its made by trikini,a three piece bikini.

Coronavirus Pandemic: Designer Masks in sold in Chinese Market

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with hospitals and people around the world struggling hard to find the N95 mask, Mr Peter Tsai, the material scientist and engineer who developed the mask's virus-blocking technology is out of retirement to study safe ways to disinfect the single-use masks for reuse — nearly 30 years after his invention.

In an exclusive interview to WION, Dr Tsai revealed how he has provided information for virologists to study the possibility of decontaminating COVID-19.

 
WION: When you came up with the N95 mask infiltration 30 years ago what was the kind of reception then and now when you return in the midst of this pandemic sweeping the world?

Dr TSAI: My invention is an ordinary industrial one to do the electrostatic charging of materials to improve the filtering efficiency of air filters including medical face masks and N95 respirators.&nbsp;

This respirator has been used for constructor workers. During SARS, it was used to protect medical workers from getting infected. The spreading of COVID-19 is wider and faster than SARS. People are eager to know if the masks can be decontaminated and reused. I had the experiments in treating the charged media using heat to study its charge behavior under ambient environment and steam for sterilization of the charged media. Therefore, I provided this information to virologists to study the possibility of decontaminating COVID-19.

WION: Why and how did you think of returning after your retirement to aid in the pandemic?

Dr TSAI: When COVID-19 occurred, people needed knowledge that what mask should people wear, and because of this the outbreak happened in a shorter period of time. There is a huge demand than supply. So, there is a shortage of respiratory items and people want&nbsp;to know ways they can deactivate the virus. After my retirement, I provided the information to deactivate COVID-19.

WION: There are various kinds of masks being prescribed for this contagion what is your outlook for general people and frontline workers?

Dr TSAI: Infected people need to wear a medical face mask to stop their contaminated droplets from being exposed to the environment. Healthy people can wear a medical face mask to stop the infected droplets. Due to the short distance contact with the COVID-19 patients, medical professionals need to wear N95 because it can capture submicron droplets and it has a tight edge seal to prevent the airborne droplets from entering through the edge space.

WION: How do you plan to study safe ways to sterilize the masks for reuse?

Dr TSAI: We had learned that alcohol would erase the charges so it is not recommended to sterilize the masks. Vaporous hydrogen peroxide has been approved by the FDA to denominate COVID-19 on N95.

Several oven manufacturers have sent their ovens and NASA their hot air blower to FDA to get approved to deactivate COVID-19 on N95.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with hospitals and people around the world struggling hard to find the N95 mask, Mr Peter Tsai, the material scientist and engineer who developed the mask's virus-blocking technology is out of retirement to study safe ways to disinfect the single-use masks for reuse — nearly 30 years after his invention.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with hospitals and people around the world struggling hard to find the N95 mask, Mr Peter Tsai, the material scientist and engineer who developed the mask's virus-blocking technology is out of retirement to study safe ways to disinfect the single-use masks for reuse — nearly 30 years after his invention. In an exclusive interview to WION, Dr Tsai revealed how he has provided information for virologists to study the possibility of decontaminating COVID-19. WION: When you came up with the N95 mask infiltration 30 years ago what was the kind of reception then and now when you return in the midst of this pandemic sweeping the world? Dr TSAI: My invention is an ordinary industrial one to do the electrostatic charging of materials to improve the filtering efficiency of air filters including medical face masks and N95 respirators. This respirator has been used for constructor workers. During SARS, it was used to protect medical workers from getting infected. The spreading of COVID-19 is wider and faster than SARS. People are eager to know if the masks can be decontaminated and reused. I had the experiments in treating the charged media using heat to study its charge behavior under ambient environment and steam for sterilization of the charged media. Therefore, I provided this information to virologists to study the possibility of decontaminating COVID-19. WION: Why and how did you think of returning after your retirement to aid in the pandemic? Dr TSAI: When COVID-19 occurred, people needed knowledge that what mask should people wear, and because of this the outbreak happened in a shorter period of time. There is a huge demand than supply. So, there is a shortage of respiratory items and people want to know ways they can deactivate the virus. After my retirement, I provided the information to deactivate COVID-19. WION: There are various kinds of masks being prescribed for this contagion what is your outlook for general people and frontline workers? Dr TSAI: Infected people need to wear a medical face mask to stop their contaminated droplets from being exposed to the environment. Healthy people can wear a medical face mask to stop the infected droplets. Due to the short distance contact with the COVID-19 patients, medical professionals need to wear N95 because it can capture submicron droplets and it has a tight edge seal to prevent the airborne droplets from entering through the edge space. WION: How do you plan to study safe ways to sterilize the masks for reuse? Dr TSAI: We had learned that alcohol would erase the charges so it is not recommended to sterilize the masks. Vaporous hydrogen peroxide has been approved by the FDA to denominate COVID-19 on N95. Several oven manufacturers have sent their ovens and NASA their hot air blower to FDA to get approved to deactivate COVID-19 on N95.

I provided information for virologists to study possibility of decontaminating COVID-19: Dr Peter Tsai to WION

A Chinese company says it has developed the country's first facial recognition technology that can identify people when they are wearing a mask, as most are these days because of the coronavirus, and help in the fight against the disease.

China employs some of the world's most sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance, including facial recognition.

But the coronavirus, which emerged in Hubei province late last year, has resulted in almost everyone wearing a surgical mask outdoors in the hope of warding off the virus - posing a particular problem for surveillance.

&nbsp;

Now Hanwang Technology Ltd, which also goes by the English name Hanvon, said it has come up technology that can successfully recognise people even when they are wearing masks.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/shanghai-disneyland-resumes-some-resort-ops-as-coronavirus-infections-slow-285167">Shanghai Disneyland resumes some resort ops as coronavirus infections slow</a>

"If connected to a temperature sensor, it can measure body temperature while identifying the person's name, and then the system would process the result, say, if it detects a temperature over 38 degrees," Hanwang Vice President Huang Lei told Reuters in an interview.

The Beijing-based firm said a team of 20 staff used core technology developed over the past 10 years, a sample database of about 6 million unmasked faces and a much smaller database of masked faces, to develop the technology,

The team began work on the system in January, as the coronavirus outbreak gathered pace, and began rolling it out to the market after just a month.

It sells two main types of products that use the technology. One performs "single-channel" recognition that is best used at, for example, entrances to office buildings.

Also see:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/covid-19-number-of-confirmed-cases-soar-to-43-new-cases-from-up-delhi-jammu-kerala-285216"> COVID-19: Number of confirmed cases soar to 43; new cases from UP, Delhi, Jammu, Kerala</a>

The other, more powerful, the product is a "multi-channel" recognition system that uses "multiple surveillance cameras".

It can identify everyone in a crowd of up to 30 people "within a second", Huang says.

"When wearing a mask, the recognition rate can reach about 95%, which can ensure that most people can be identified," Huang said, adding the success rate for people without the mask is about 99.5%.

LOSING FACIAL INFORMATION

A big customer, not surprisingly, is the Ministry of Public Security, which runs the police.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-korean-pm-says-turning-point-near-in-coronavirus-fight-285173">South Korean PM says 'turning point' near in coronavirus fight</a>

Using Hanwang's technology, the ministry can cross-reference images with its own database of names and other information and then identify and track people as they move about, Huang said.

"It can detect crime suspects, terrorists or make reports or warnings," he said.

But the system struggles to identify people with both a mask and sunglasses, he said.

"In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is tough," Huang said.

Watch: 

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The company has about 200 clients in Beijing using the technology, including the police, and expect scores more across 20 provinces to start installing it soon, Huang said.

It is not immediately clear how Chinese citizens are reacting to this new technology.

When it comes to other surveillance tools being used in the fight against the coronavirus, there has been some grumbling on social media but most people seem to be accepting extra intrusion, or even embracing it, as a means to deal with the health emergency.

<img alt="Coronavirus mask" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4a6e946d-eade-4cbf-ac70-5f0334572824" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%2812%29.jpg" />

Although domestic customers have been driving Hanwang's business, Huang also said he expected more foreign interest, as the virus spreads around the world and more people wear face masks.

"It not only benefits Chinese people but also when the technology is applied globally, it can benefit the world," he said.

A Chinese company says it has developed the country's first facial recognition technology that can identify people when they are wearing a mask, as most are these days because of the coronavirus, and help in the fight against the disease.

A Chinese company says it has developed the country's first facial recognition technology that can identify people when they are wearing a mask, as most are these days because of the coronavirus, and help in the fight against the disease. China employs some of the world's most sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance, including facial recognition. But the coronavirus, which emerged in Hubei province late last year, has resulted in almost everyone wearing a surgical mask outdoors in the hope of warding off the virus - posing a particular problem for surveillance. Now Hanwang Technology Ltd, which also goes by the English name Hanvon, said it has come up technology that can successfully recognise people even when they are wearing masks. Also read: Shanghai Disneyland resumes some resort ops as coronavirus infections slow "If connected to a temperature sensor, it can measure body temperature while identifying the person's name, and then the system would process the result, say, if it detects a temperature over 38 degrees," Hanwang Vice President Huang Lei told Reuters in an interview. The Beijing-based firm said a team of 20 staff used core technology developed over the past 10 years, a sample database of about 6 million unmasked faces and a much smaller database of masked faces, to develop the technology, The team began work on the system in January, as the coronavirus outbreak gathered pace, and began rolling it out to the market after just a month. It sells two main types of products that use the technology. One performs "single-channel" recognition that is best used at, for example, entrances to office buildings. Also see: COVID-19: Number of confirmed cases soar to 43; new cases from UP, Delhi, Jammu, Kerala The other, more powerful, the product is a "multi-channel" recognition system that uses "multiple surveillance cameras". It can identify everyone in a crowd of up to 30 people "within a second", Huang says. "When wearing a mask, the recognition rate can reach about 95%, which can ensure that most people can be identified," Huang said, adding the success rate for people without the mask is about 99.5%. LOSING FACIAL INFORMATION A big customer, not surprisingly, is the Ministry of Public Security, which runs the police. Also read: South Korean PM says 'turning point' near in coronavirus fight Using Hanwang's technology, the ministry can cross-reference images with its own database of names and other information and then identify and track people as they move about, Huang said. "It can detect crime suspects, terrorists or make reports or warnings," he said. But the system struggles to identify people with both a mask and sunglasses, he said. "In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is tough," Huang said. Watch: × The company has about 200 clients in Beijing using the technology, including the police, and expect scores more across 20 provinces to start installing it soon, Huang said. It is not immediately clear how Chinese citizens are reacting to this new technology. When it comes to other surveillance tools being used in the fight against the coronavirus, there has been some grumbling on social media but most people seem to be accepting extra intrusion, or even embracing it, as a means to deal with the health emergency. Although domestic customers have been driving Hanwang's business, Huang also said he expected more foreign interest, as the virus spreads around the world and more people wear face masks. "It not only benefits Chinese people but also when the technology is applied globally, it can benefit the world," he said.

China firm develops system to recognise faces behind coronavirus masks

People are turning to face masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus. But, Pharmacies are running out of them. From Hong Kong, to Manila and even Bangkok - countries affected by the Wuhan virus are running short of face masks.

Gravitas: Wuhan virus triggers a shortage of face masks

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