Surgical masks are being reintroduced, this time for flu, but they don’t work for viruses, and the government has known it all along.
Surgical masks are being reimposed in hospitals and care homes despite overwhelming evidence that states very clearly that they are totally ineffective at stopping the spread of viruses. News that Hospitals in England are once again reintroducing mask mandates has sparked outrage over what critics are calling "a pandemic theatre rerun."
The controversy reignited after NHS bosses in Lincolnshire reimposed mask-mandates in Hospitals yesterday. Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust said it was reintroducing face coverings in response to an increase in illnesses in the county's hospital and community settings.
Many are asking how mask mandates are still being imposed when they have been proven, repeatedly, to be totally useless at stopping viruses. Surgical masks, originally designed to block bacteria during surgeries, are incapable of filtering viral particles, which are significantly smaller.
Critics have cited the fact that SAGE, the WHO, and Imperial college London all know that masks don't work against viruses and never did.
SAGE: “a visual representation of solidarity”
In 2020, the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) openly described masks as “a visual representation of solidarity” rather than a scientifically proven barrier against viral transmission.
WHO: "there is limited evidence"
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its 2020 interim guidance admitted that “there is limited evidence supporting mask use in community settings to prevent respiratory virus transmission".
Imperial College London: "It's an open secret in the medical community"
Dr. Lisa Turnbull, a virologist at Imperial College London, stating, “It’s an open secret in the medical community that surgical masks were never designed for airborne viruses.”
Public reaction on social media has been swift and scathing. Twitter user @TruthUnmasked called the move “a cynical attempt to distract from broader failures in pandemic management.” Political commentator Emma Blake tweeted, “We deserve honesty. These masks are a political symbol, not a protective measure.”
Data from multiple studies underscores the ineffectiveness of surgical masks against Covid-19 and flu. A 2021 study in the British Medical Journal found “limited to no benefit” from mask use in reducing virus spread in community settings. Similarly, a Danish randomised trial, published in Annals of Internal Medicine in 2020, concluded that masks “made no statistically significant difference” in preventing Covid-19 infection. These findings were echoed by a meta-analysis from Cochrane Reviews in January 2023, which stated, “Physical interventions, including masks, are largely ineffective in reducing respiratory virus spread.”
The decision has drawn parallels to 2020, when mask mandates became a highly visible yet entirely useless aspect of pandemic policy. Combined with SAGE’s admission about the “visual representation” role of masks, why do we have to go through this all again?
Face Masks cannot stop viruses, it's impossible. It has been debunked, repeatedly, which leaves only two possibilities regarding the reintroduction of them by NHS officials. Either they are entirely incompetent and have no idea what they're doing, or they do, and that it's a cynical attempt at creating a crisis where there isn't one.
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