Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a type of protective face mask that protects people from contracting covid-19; and what assessment his Department has made of whether face masks protect people from contracting covid-19.

The Government, informed by professionals, has published new guidance about personal protective equipment (PPE) for National Health Service teams who are likely to come into contact with patients with COVID-19. This is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control

The guidance recommends the safest level of PPE to protect NHS healthcare workers and specifies the type of PPE that should be worn in the various healthcare settings.

The World Health Organization recommends the use of FFP2 masks but the United Kingdom has gone further and recommends the use of FFP3 masks. However, we are clear that FFP2 have been approved by the WHO and can be used safely if necessary.

Face masks play a very important role in clinical settings, such as hospitals, but there is very little evidence of widespread benefit from their use outside of these clinical settings. Facemasks must be worn correctly, changed frequently, removed properly and disposed of safely in order to be effective.