Immunology expert: Making face masks mandatory on crowded Dublin streets 'not unreasonable'

A man with a face mask scoots past people on Henry Street in Dublin. Picture: Collins

Some health experts are urging the Government to consider making it mandatory for people on Dublin's streets to wear face coverings if they find themselves unable to socially-distance properly.

The Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, has appealed to people in Dublin to keep their social contacts as low as possible, due to rising Covid-19 cases in the capital over the past two weeks.

Of the 138 new cases confirmed last night, 68 were in Dublin, with the remainder spread across the country.

Jack Lambert, a consultant at the Mater Hospital, says mask-wearing in congregated areas outdoors is a decision that must be taken by government now.

Speaking to Pat Kenny on Newstalk this morning, Professor of Biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, Luke O'Neill said that mask-wearing should be encouraged on crowded streets.

Prof O'Neill said: "In Asia that happens, if you look at a street in Tokyo and there's crowds they're all wearing masks.

“You can’t keep the distance in that situation, because remember if you stay two metres away, that’s really good, and outdoors is even better.

“If you get within a few inches of someone on a crowded street, it would be wise to put your mask on and in fact, some countries recommend that.

"In fact, some countries recommended that [you] keep your mask handy - if you find yourself in a crowded place outdoors, pop the mask on - being careful of course not to touch it too much.

But that's not an unreasonable thing to suggest.

Dr O'Neill believes results could be seen within a matter weeks.

“If we fast forward to December, one of the reports was saying, and you look at the excess death rate, September to December, it may be very low, because again the death rate is dropping.

"That’s our hope isn’t it? That we’ll get say six months from now and realise that in the second phase of this the excess deaths were a lot lower, because we were able to treat it or because people’s behaviour changed.”