Face mask skeptic has benefits explained by healthcare expert

13 July 2020, 19:23 | Updated: 13 July 2020, 19:46

Caller skeptical of face masks gets educated by public health expert

By Seán Hickey

This caller insisted that there was no scientific basis for wearing face coverings in public, a professor was on the line to tell him otherwise.

England is preparing for the Prime Minister to make face coverings compulsory in indoor shops in a matter of days. Eddie Mair was asking the public how they felt about being made wear face masks.

Eddie Mair was speaking to Delroy who was "not convinced of the medical merits" of wearing masks in public and how they may lessen the spread and death rate of coronavirus. He said he wants "to be a free man" and wearing a mask in public would encroach on that.

"It would have to be a law" for him to accept it, Delroy said, but added that he "wouldn't go out" when the law was introduced.

When asked by Eddie, Delroy said that "there's no scientific basis" that masks protect the public and wondered about the credibility of scientists, asking "who are these high priests of humanity all of a sudden."

"They've been to college for a few years, got a couple of PhDs, big deal."

Delroy believed there was no scientific advice proving the benefits of face masks. Picture: PA

Eddie asked him if he was worried if he would catch coronavirus, but Delroy countered, "do I worry about the common cold every year?"

Trish Greenhalgh is the Professor of primary health care sciences at Oxford University and Eddie tagged her into the conversation to explain the problems with his argument.

She began by telling Delroy about how his arguments originated in America from people skeptical of the country's approach to the pandemic initially. "Those people are now dead" she told him

Professor Greenhalgh admitted that the scientific community is asking for a massive cultural shift. "Before we had a deadly pandemic i would never have asked people to cover their faces" she said, while also telling the caller that "we do need to take the balance of benefits" when seeing whether wearing a mask in public is worthwhile.

"My face covering protects you, yours protects me, and I think we'll be able to get society back up and running" if the majority of the UK starts wearing face coverings, the primary health expert concluded.

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