The director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control is advocating for people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese CDC, said that people not wearing masks in public in the United States and Europe is a mistake, reported South China Morning Post.

Big mistake to be in public without masks

SCMP also reported that the Chinese CDC said in a public advisory issued on Mar. 22 that people should continue to wear masks in the office, meeting rooms, lifts and on public transport, even though they don't need to do so at home, in open air, or in an environment where there is good airflow and no crowds.

"The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks", SCMP quoted Gao saying in an interview with Science Magazine.

This is because droplets and close contact transmit the virus, he said: "Droplets play a very important role – you’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth.”

He added that because people may have the virus but be asymptomatic or presymptomatic, face masks help to prevent droplets that carry the virus from reaching and infecting others.

WHO: Wear mask only if showing symptoms or caring for suspected case

The World Health Organization (WHO) has offered differing advice about the use of face masks from the Chinese CDC.

The WHO website states that a person only needs to wear a mask if they are coughing or sneezing, or if they are taking care of a person suspected to have Covid-19.

In Singapore, the Ministry of Health has instructed people not to wear masks unless they are unwell.

MOH has instructed those in Singapore to only wear a mask if they have a fever, cough, or runny nose, or if they are recovering from an illness.

As of Mar. 28, Singapore has 802 confirmed cases of Covid-19, while he U.S. surpassed Italy with the highest number of Covid-19 cases, with more than 105,000 confirmed cases.

Top photo by Cheng Feng on Unsplash.