Melbourne declares disaster, enforces curfew as coronavirus cases spike Kingdon and many other advocates understand how important masks are in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 but they want greater public awareness to help those who are deaf or have hearing loss.“We’re looking to advocate with the health minister in Canada to talk about these issues and promote the practice of wearing clear masks as a standard approach where applicable,” Kingdon said.A similar push is underway in the United Kingdom where it is estimated 12 million people are deaf or hard of hearing.[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]On July 31, U.K.