Wearing face masks can be ‘very dangerous’

Sweden’s leading infectious disease expert has resisted the recommendation of face masks for the general population – arguing it’s “very dangerous” if people believe the coatings alone will stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Anders Tegnell, chief epidemiologist at the Swedish Public Health Agency, has repeatedly expressed skepticism that face masks will control outbreaks of the virus, the Financial Times reported.

“It is very dangerous to believe that face masks would be a game-changer when it comes to COVID-19,” said Tengell, who is considered the national equivalent of Dr Anthony Fauci of the White House COVID-19 task force. .

He noted that countries where respect for masks is widespread, such as Belgium and Spain, are still seeing increased rates of the virus.

“Face masks can be a complement to other things when other things are securely in place,” he said. “But to start with face masks and then think you can clutter your buses or malls – that’s definitely wrong.”

He completely ruled out the prospect of wearing masks last month, saying: “With numbers dropping very rapidly in Sweden, we see no point in wearing a face mask in Sweden, not even on public transport.”

Tegnell argued that the evidence for the effectiveness of the use of the face mask was “surprisingly weak”.

“I’m surprised we don’t have more or better studies showing the real effects of masks,” he told the UK Times.

The infectious disease expert has faced backlash after the country controversially refused to lock down, resulting in a higher per capita death rate than neighboring countries which have adopted more stringent approaches.

Sweden has recorded at least 85,000 cases, including more than 5,800 deaths, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.