Contact lenses safe to wear during pandemic

A peer-reviewed paper published in Contact Lens & Anterior Eye has confirmed that contact lenses are an acceptable form of vision correction during the coronavirus pandemic.

The report outlines five facts for practitioners to share with contact lens and spectacles wearers, including: good hygiene habits are critical, spectacles do not provide protection against Covid-19 and temporarily stop wearing contact lenses if you are sick.

Dr Lyndon Jones, director of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) at the University of Waterloo in Canada, said: ‘Our findings indicate that contact lenses remain a perfectly acceptable form of vision correction during the coronavirus pandemic, as long as people observe good hand hygiene and follow appropriate wear-and-care directions.

‘Unfortunately, we have seen a number of erroneous reports regarding contact lenses and spectacles in recent days. Our goal is to make sure that science-backed truths are understood and shared, helping eye care practitioners provide accurate, timely counsel to patients.’