People in China must keep wearing face masks 'for at least another year' to fend off the killer bug, Beijing's top coronavirus expert has warned.
Zhang Boli, a medical specialist who was appointed by Beijing to supervise the country's coronavirus response, asserted that wearing face coverings should become a norm for Chinese citizens even when the outbreak is contained.
'I think the face masks will not be taken off for at least another year, at least this time next year. [We] definitely need to be prepared,' Zhang told state broadcaster CCTV Saturday.
Zhang's warning comes as fears of a second wave of the outbreak are fuelled after clusters of infections have recently emerged across the country.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine expert was invited to speak on 'Kai Jiang La', an educational youth programme aired on state broadcaster CCTV Saturday.
When asked about if people can stop wearing face masks during summer, Zhang predicted that the face-coverings would become a regularity for the foreseeable future.
'At the moment, it looks like the coronavirus does not have many correlations to temperatures,' Zhang told the presenter. 'You see, in places like Indonesia and India, where the temperatures are quite high, there are still a lot of infections.
'Even if the outbreak is contained, I think [we will] still need to wear face masks. [We] really have to adopt such habit.'
The health official asserted: 'I think the face masks will not be taken off for at least another year, at least this time next year. [We] definitely need to be prepared.'
People in China must keep wearing face masks 'for at least another year' to fend off the killer bug, Beijing's top coronavirus expert has warned.
When asked about if people can stop wearing face masks during summer, Zhang predicted that the face-coverings would become a regularity for the foreseeable future.
