Current BA onboard social distancing and use of washrooms
May 25, 2020, 6:29 am
#31
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,394
BA, in a corporate sense, continue to be (unless I have missed something ?) oddly silent on the much-debated matter of wearing face masks whilst onboard.
Under their own FAQ’s on britishairways.com, this appears :
Do you need to wear a face mask ?
“Please be aware that it’s now mandatory to wear personal protective masks at some airports. Please make sure you check airport guidelines before you travel, so you can arrive prepared”
Qantas recently sent me an email, setting out - in some detail - various new procedures under two separate headings ‘Pre-flight’ and ‘Onboard the plane’.
No such email received, as yet, from BA - and yet I generally fly far more with BA than I do with Qantas (and have no direct status with QF),
There is a section in the Qantas email advisory, specifically relating to masks, which reads as follows :
“Masks will be provided to all passengers - while these are not mandatory from a safety point of view, they are recommended to be worn for everyone’s peace-of-mind. Customers can also bring their own mask if they would prefer.”
The section on enhanced cleaning procedures now being implemented includes this :
“Sanitising wipes given to all passengers to wipe down seat belts, trays and armrests themselves, if preferred.”
Under their own FAQ’s on britishairways.com, this appears :
Do you need to wear a face mask ?
“Please be aware that it’s now mandatory to wear personal protective masks at some airports. Please make sure you check airport guidelines before you travel, so you can arrive prepared”
Qantas recently sent me an email, setting out - in some detail - various new procedures under two separate headings ‘Pre-flight’ and ‘Onboard the plane’.
No such email received, as yet, from BA - and yet I generally fly far more with BA than I do with Qantas (and have no direct status with QF),
There is a section in the Qantas email advisory, specifically relating to masks, which reads as follows :
“Masks will be provided to all passengers - while these are not mandatory from a safety point of view, they are recommended to be worn for everyone’s peace-of-mind. Customers can also bring their own mask if they would prefer.”
The section on enhanced cleaning procedures now being implemented includes this :
“Sanitising wipes given to all passengers to wipe down seat belts, trays and armrests themselves, if preferred.”
May 25, 2020, 6:31 am
#32
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Rhineland-Palatinate
Programs: *A Gold (A3), HHonor Gold
Posts: 5,681
There is a difference between evidence that masks can stop some amount of droplets (I don't think anyone denies that) and evidence that wearing them by general public is beneficial for overal public health. Some of your links only deal with the former.
The Medrxiv link you posted even specifically states following: "The evidence is not sufficiently strong to support widespread use of facemasks as a protective measure against COVID-19. However, there is enough evidence to support the use of facemasks for short periods of time by particularly vulnerable individuals when in transient higher risk situations. Further high quality trials are needed to assess when wearing a facemask in the community is most likely to be protective."
The Medrxiv link you posted even specifically states following: "The evidence is not sufficiently strong to support widespread use of facemasks as a protective measure against COVID-19. However, there is enough evidence to support the use of facemasks for short periods of time by particularly vulnerable individuals when in transient higher risk situations. Further high quality trials are needed to assess when wearing a facemask in the community is most likely to be protective."
Greater effectiveness was suggested by observational studies. When both house-mates and an infected household member wore facemasks the odds of further household members becoming ill may be modestly reduced by around 19%
