His advice….
If you feel sick?
Stay home and rest….
The common cold is also a virus…
The surgeon general on Saturday urged the public to stop buying masks, warning that it won’t help against the spread of the coronavirus but will take away important resources from health care professionals.
“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” the surgeon general, Jerome M. Adams, said in a tweet on Saturday morning. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”
The plea comes as panicked consumers rush to buy masks online, including so-called N95s, a surge that has led to price gouging and counterfeit products.
In another tweet, Mr. Adams said the best way to protect against the virus is to wash hands regularly, and for those who are feeling ill to stay home.
Health officials around the world have been imploring the public to stop buying masks if they are healthy or not caring for someone who is ill. Medical professionals need a large supply of the masks because they are in direct contact with infected patients and must change their masks repeatedly.
“There are severe strains on protective equipment around the world,” said Dr. Michael J. Ryan, executive director of the health emergency program at the World Health Organization, during a briefing on Friday. “Our primary concern is to ensure that our front line health workers are protected and that they have the equipment they need to do their jobs.”
Dr. Ryan said masks primarily prevent a person from giving the disease to someone else.
“There are limits to how a mask can protect you from being infected,” he said. “The most important thing everyone can do is wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face and observe very precise hygiene.”…
“Most face masks do not effectively filter small particles from the air and do not prevent leakage around the edge of the mask when the user inhales,” the website reads.
Aaron E. Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, echoed the CDC’s recommendations in an interview on Sunday and said there is a cost associated with healthy people buying up masks that could be going to health care workers instead.
“The people who must wear a mask are physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists that go into the rooms with patients. They’re putting their life on the line and they must have that personal protective equipment,” he said. By contrast, healthy people wearing such gear for a walk around the block “are wasting a mask,” he said….
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