WHO Encourages Mask Wearing on Long-Haul Flights

WHO Encourages Mask Wearing on Long-Haul Flights
Flight attendants walk at the arrival area at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Jan. 8, 2023. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images
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Countries should consider recommending travelers to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Tuesday, citing the rapid spread of the latest COVID-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 in the United States—even though nothing currently suggests that it brings more severe disease than previous strains.

Mask wearing on long-haul flights “should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission,” Catherine Smallwood, the WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, told reporters at a press briefing on Jan. 10.