SURGEON GENERAL SAYS TO STOP BUYING MASKS

Health experts say washing hands is more effective

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 the so-called N95, a surge that has led to price gouging and counterfeit products.

In another tweet, 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. “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.”

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.”

The WHO’S guidelines recommend that health workers use surgical masks to cover their mouths and noses but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has instructed them to wear masks known as N95s, which are thicker, fit more tightly around the mouth and nose, and block out much smaller particles than surgical masks do.

Both masks help prevent the spread of droplets from a person’s cough or sneeze, but medical specialists have said that for average members of the public, they are generally not effective.

A person is more likely to get infected by touching contaminated surfaces than from a droplet traveling through the air.

Air can also get in around the edges of the masks, particularly flat surgical masks. Health care workers who wear N95 masks as part of their jobs are required to undergo a fit test at least once a year to ensure that there are no gaps around their mouths.

Most people are unlikely to know how to wear these masks and could accidentally contaminate themselves if they touch the outside of the mask when they remove it and then touch their face.

“Not having a mask does not necessarily put you at any increased risk of contracting this disease,” Ryan said.