Chief Medical Officer for Wales to report on pros and cons of wearing ‘non-clinical face coverings’

The Chief Medical Officer for Wales is set to give formal advice on whether non-clinical face coverings should be worn by the public.

Last week, the Welsh Health Minister said he wants to see more detail on Scotland’s move to advise people to cover their faces before making a similar decision.

Yesterday First Minister Mark Drakeford was asked what made Wales different from other countries like Italy and Spain where face masks are now being worn.

He said he was currently awaiting medical advice, but stressed any outcome would not see the public competing with the health service.

Answering a question by our sister site North.Wales, he said: “I’ve been in discussion with the Chief Medical Officer this morning on the subject of masks, and he is going to formalise his advice to the Welsh Government on the pros and cons of them.

“I want to be really clear about this, what we are talking about are not masks of the sort that they use in hospital.

“We’re not going to embark on a course of action where members of the public end up competing with the health service for the use of masks which are needed in a clinical setting, and for which there isn’t evidence for use in the community.

“What we are talking about are non-clinical face coverings. That’s the phrase the Scottish Government has used in its guidance.

“We will get formal advice now from the Chief Medical Officer in Wales about the pros and cons of making use of non clinical face coverings advisory here in Wales.”

You can view the full briefing from yesterday, including the Q&A session below:

🎥 Yn fyw nawr | 🎥 Live now: https://t.co/GEjbOSEvwA

— Welsh Government (@WelshGovernment) May 4, 2020