All members of a household should wear a medical face mask if someone is self-isolating at home and unable to stay alone in a room, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ideally, if you need to isolate, you should separate yourself in your own bedroom with its own bathroom, the WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove said during a question and answer session on Thursday.

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However if you are unable to do so, you should "try to keep your distance from your family members as best you can. Make sure that in the household you're wearing masks, in this case wear medical masks, if you have access to them. If not, wear fabric masks," Van Kerkhove said.

"Make sure that you perform your hand hygiene and you wash your hands regularly, that you disinfect surfaces, make sure that you get plenty of food and plenty of rest and plenty of water and all that," she added.

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Face masks have been used as an important tool in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but they can't beat the virus on their own, warned the WHO's Michael Ryan, who also took part in the session.

Ryan urged people to continue to adhere to social distancing measures, regardless of whether they are wearing a face mask or not.

"It completely defeats the purpose [of wearing a face mask] if you close the physical distance. And I've had [the experience] very recently –  someone wearing a mask ... came to give me a hug and I said, 'no' ... and they said 'but I'm wearing a mask.' And I thought, 'yes, but it still means we can't embrace,' as much as i would have have loved to embrace," he said.

"So the mask gives you that extra layer of protection, but it doesn't give you permission then to get rid of all the other issues. Hand-washing and masks are exceptionally important," he said, adding that people tend to touch their faces and masks more often if they are wearing a face mask, so need to remember to wash their hands and use sanitizer regularly.

Video editing: Nuri Museinco