Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

WHO Urges Travelers to Wear Masks as New COVID Variant Spreads


Tue 10 Jan 2023 | 09:08 PM
By Ahmad El-Assasy

Countries should consider recommending that passengers wear masks on long-haul flights, given the rapid spread of the latest Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday. 

In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant was detected in small but growing numbers, WHO/Europe officials said at a press briefing. 

Passengers should be advised to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, said the WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, adding: "This should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission".