Stay home when you’re sick and wash your hands more. Those “everyday preventive actions” are still the best way to protect yourself from coronavirus and other respiratory illness, according to the U.S. surgeon general.
Here’s what isn’t helpful, however:
It remains to be seen whether the surgeon general’s words will be heeded, considering the sales boom we’re currently seeing in masks, despite a prior warning from the CDC that they are unnecessary.
Dr. William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told CNN that buying masks is a “psychological thing” rather than a viable defense.
“The coronavirus is coming, and we feel rather helpless,” he said. “By getting masks and wearing them, we move the locus of control somewhat to ourselves.”
The surgeon general’s tweet this weekend follows a similar message earlier in the week from CDC Director Robert Redfield.
“There is no role for these masks in the community,” he old the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday. “These masks need to be prioritized for health care professionals that as part of their job are taking care of individuals.”
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