protecting yourself from the flu, namely, avoid being around people who are sick and wash your hands often.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, a spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America, said surgical masks and respirators offer protection in the health care setting and do offer some protection to the general public.
“However, most people in the general public don’t wear them properly. They stick their hands under them,” said Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.
Adalja added that the risk to the United States right now from this coronavirus is very small. “Buying these masks could have unintended consequences, including shortages, demand spikes, and price increases,” he said.
“It’s not really necessary to wear a mask to protect yourself,” Adalja noted. “It’s not something Americans need to do.”
For more on medical face masks, see the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCES: William Schaffner, M.D., professor, preventive medicine and health policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Amesh Adalja, M.D., spokesman, Infectious Disease Society of America, senior scholar, Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, Baltimore; Raina MacIntyre, MBBS, Ph.D., head, biosecurity research program, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Checklist: What You Need To Know About Coronavirus
The coronavirus that has rapidly infected nearly 6,000 people in China is spreading across the globe, with five cases confirmed in the United States.
The death toll in China so far has topped 130.
Here’s what else you should know about the new coronavirus, called 2019-nCoV, which originated in