Tag: face masks

Sweden’s Top Epidemiologist: ‘We See No Point In Wearing Masks’

Sweden’s top epidemiologist says he sees “no point” in mandating masks in public across the country, which has seen its COVID-19 numbers plunge in recent months.

“With numbers diminishing very quickly in Sweden, we see no point in wearing a face mask in Sweden, not even on public transport,” Anders Tegnell said, according to Fortune.

Newsweek reports that as of Sunday, “the latest death rate in Sweden (deaths per 100,000 people) was reported to be 56.40. The figure is lower than that reported in the U.K. (69.60), Spain (60.88) and Italy (58.16), according to the latest report Sunday by Johns Hopkins University.”

“That Sweden has come down to these levels is very promising,” Tegnell told reporters in Stockholm on Tuesday. “The curves are going down and the curves for the seriously ill are beginning to approach zero.”

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McDonald’s CEO says law enforcement may be called on customers who refuse to wear masks

McDonald’s appears to be serious about face masks.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski recently spoke about recent decisions the company has made amid the coronavirus pandemic. He specifically suggested that law enforcement may be called during situations when a customer won’t wear a mask.

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Houston Mayor Orders $250 Fines For People Who Refuse To Wear Masks

“For months, we have been focusing on education and not citations, but now I am instructing the Houston Police Department to issue the necessary warnings and citations to anyone not wearing a mask in public if they do not meet the criteria for an exemption,” the mayor said Monday at a press briefing.

Police said that the wouldn’t respond to call outs reporting people for not wearing masks, but they would issue the fine if they saw someone not covering up during regular patrols.

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The land with no face masks: Holland’s top scientists say there’s no solid evidence coverings work and warn they could even damage the fight against Covid-19

‘Face masks in public places are not necessary, based on all the current evidence,’ said Coen Berends, spokesman for the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. ‘There is no benefit and there may even be negative impact.’

This is a bold but highly controversial stance – especially as fears grow of a second wave sweeping through Europe. Last week, Downing Street joined the global stampede to enforce face masks in public spaces such as shops, supermarkets and stations, following Scotland, Spain and France, along with Holland’s neighbouring nations of Belgium and Germany.

‘We think masks have a great deal of value,’ said Boris Johnson. ‘Scientific evaluation of face coverings and their importance in stopping aerosol droplets has been growing. People should wear them in shops.’

But the Dutch disagree – to the delight of all the citizens I spoke with in Amsterdam. ‘I hate wearing them,’ said Aicha Meziati, 29, in the hip fashion store Das Werk Haus. ‘They are horrible. People look like they have nappies on their faces.’

Margriet, a 24-year-old sales assistant in a pop-up drink shop, said it was hard to read people’s facial expressions when they wore masks. ‘You make contact with people better without them and it is easier to talk to them in the store.’

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