Circumstances should dictate whether to wear masks: expert

Imaginechina

Individuals should decide whether or not to wear face masks according to their personal circumstances and where they are, according to Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wu said in a Weibo post on Saturday that there are currently no uniform regulations on mask-wearing across the country.

Wu's comments came as the latest figures from the Chinese CDC show a significant decline in COVID-19 cases. As of March 30, the daily number of positive nucleic acid tests nationwide had dropped to below 3,000, a level not seen since October 2022, and the number of deaths among COVID-19 patients in hospitals had remained at zero for several weeks.

According to the World Health Organization's latest report on the global COVID-19 situation as of March 29, the number of new cases reported each week had dropped to less than 100,000 for the first time since March 2020, while the number of weekly deaths had dropped to below 1,000. These figures indicate that the pandemic may be coming to an end.

In addition to the decline in COVID-19 cases, the CDC's monitoring of influenza cases in hospitals across China shows that the number of flu cases has stabilized over the past three weeks and is expected to further decrease as temperatures increase.

While there are no uniform regulations on mask-wearing, Wu provided guidance on different situations in which individuals might choose to wear masks. He advised continuing to wear masks in crowded and poorly ventilated places, during medical consultations, and in households that contain elderly or immuno-compromised individuals.

In parks, streets, communities and other open spaces, masks were not required, Wu said.