Experts say you don’t need surgical masks to prevent coronavirus:
Can wearing a medical mask protect you against the new coronavirus? This is the question everyone is asking these days. The doctors say the answer is no it’s a regular surgical face mask. A more specialized mask, known as an N95, can protect against the virus. At this point, burying a surgical mask is like a wastage of money.
Experts say that we put surgical masks on sick people to protect the healthy ones around them.
Masks serve as emotional comfort for people, they feel safe and protected. But the reality is they don’t really provide us the protection that we need.
Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have maintained that you should only wear a mask if you yourself are infected with the new coronavirus or if you are taking care of someone who may be infected.
In fact, due to misinformation, the sales of the surgical mask has increased, which has led to a shortage of them for the doctors. Now the health care providers are unable to attend sick people because they are out of masks. This will also lead to the spread of the infection.
There are two types of masks:
Surgical masks:
These are the ones that surgeons wear while they are operating a person, in order to protect the patient, in case they cough or spit while talking. The surgical masks are very thin and cannot block out the tiny particles of coronavirus. Those viruses can break through the masks easily.
N95 respiratory masks:
These masks are basically for healthcare providers when they are taking care of sick persons. They block out 95% of viral particles. But you need to be fit tested for those masks as well. There is a certain way to use them and they can be used only one time.
The average healthy people don’t need to wear a mask. There is no evidence that wearing masks will protect them from infection. They can also increase the risk of infection as people touch their faces more often while wearing them.
So, the experts suggest that you don’t need masks to protect yourself from the virus.
The suggested ways to avoid getting the coronavirus are to, postpone any travel to places with known outbreaks. You can also thoroughly wash your hands; avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands; avoid close contact with people who are sick.
