Malta is monitoring the effectiveness of mandatory face mask use by the public in other countries before implementing a similar measure locally, the health authorities have said.

While more countries have started recommending the use of face masks by everyone as part of efforts to stop the coronavirus from spreading, this is not yet the case in Malta.

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci told Times of Malta on Friday the island’s health authorities have yet to change their position on the matter.

At present, Malta is following the World Health Organization’s instructions on the use of face masks. The WHO currently recommends masks only for those with symptoms and healthcare workers.

Asked again about the matter on Friday, Gauci iterated that Malta was still adhering to the WHO recommendations but went on to note that the authorities were looking closely at the impact that measures introduced by other countries were having.

“We are monitoring the effectiveness of the measures being taken by those other countries that are encouraging the use of the masks by everyone and not just within the healthcare systems,” Gauci said.

In many places across Asia, health authorities have already recommended that anyone out in public should put on such masks. In China, Taiwan and South Korea, for instance, the measure is being regarded as relatively successful and has helped contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The idea is now spreading to other continents. In Europe, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have made mask-wearing mandatory for people in public and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is reportedly mulling the idea of urging everyone to wear a mask outside the healthcare setting.

Even the WHO appears to be reconsidering its original guidance. The global agency this week appointed an expert panel to revisit the evidence and see whether it should alter its recommendation.