The topic of whether to wear a mask or not is quite hotly debated. Different societies and cultures seem to adopt different practices, and part of the U.S. practice may be directly related to the amount of masks produced and stocked. A March 7 retrospective article in USA Today used the diary of a 15-year-old girl as a clue to document the situation in Seattle during the 1918 pandemic, a very vivid documentary. The article includes a photo of a local police officer wearing a mask, and the text also states that “no one is allowed to ride in a car without wearing a mask. In 1918, Seattle had a population of 400,000, and about 1,500 people died from the flu (a mortality rate of 0.4%, as opposed to a death rate, which is the percentage of people who die from the disease, and a death rate, which is the percentage of the total population who die).
Americans are at least nearly 80 years removed from the last great social upheaval, and people in a stable and comfortable country have good reason to place more emphasis on personal freedom and lack the same sense of crisis that the Chinese do. So it is only natural that there are differences in perceptions.
Much has been written about the different types of masks and their different effects, so I won’t repeat them here. It would be interesting to speculate on how many people read those lengthy texts. Personally, I think very few. Wearing or not wearing is actually more of a social psychology product, people around me/familiar people are wearing them, so I follow suit. The rush to buy rice and toilet paper is also a similar psychological response.
From the beginning of the Wuhan outbreak (let’s take Mr. Zhong’s human-to-human speech on January 20 as the coordinates), domestic medical experts emphasized wearing masks in one voice. After that, some of them tried to make some efforts to “correct” the situation by telling people that it was not necessary to wear them in the open streets and outdoors. However, everything has a preconception, and it is no longer effective to dissuade. If you read carefully what medical experts from different countries say about masks, you may realize that they all have some valid points.
The important thing is that “talking about masks without talking about where to use them is as meaningless as talking about toxicity without talking about concentration!” My personal understanding
Doctors who face many patients every day, especially in fever clinics and infectious disease departments, must have N95 masks!
Ordinary people go to the new crown patients more hospitals, with ordinary masks may have a general effect, or even do not work.
In confined spaces, such as airplanes, public transportation and rooms with central air conditioning, a regular mask will help if there are patients, and the effect may be average.
Close contact and talking to people with the patient (or with the virus), such as in stores and restaurants, but especially in homes with patients, masks will definitely help, but perhaps quite without guarantee.
An open street park, or even a store with few people, even if a patient is ever present nearby, the virus is quickly diluted and less dangerous. There is no problem without a mask.
The consensus of medical experts from China and abroad is that
The most important mode of transmission of NCCP is proximity droplet dispersal. That is, when in close contact with the patient (or the person with the virus), the virus enters the respiratory tract of others directly or indirectly through droplets from the patient’s breathing, speech and large sneezes, eventually leading to infection.
The so-called aerosol route of transmission only occurs in confined spaces with a high density of virus particles, such as in hospitals or on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. This partly explains why some experts are emphasizing indoor ventilation, the purpose of which is to reduce the concentration of viruses in the space and reduce transmission through the aerosol route.
Fecal-oral transmission is just one of the possibilities that experts have been unable to identify themselves, leaving the public to wonder about.
It is important to note that experts do not consider airborne transmission to be the primary route of transmission; they are saying that the likelihood of you being hit by so-called airborne virus particles while standing outdoors in a relatively open space, or even indoors, is almost zero. This is quite different from close droplet transmission.
The decision to wear or not to wear is as much a personal decision as it is related to the social environment and cultural practices in which you live. When I returned to the U.S. from China in early February, I immediately threw my mask in the trash when I arrived at the Chicago airport, not wanting to look like a special person in the crowd here. My personal approach
To do or can do
Keeping the necessary distance between people is the first important thing, 1-2 meters distance will make the chance of infection much lower.
Avoid crowded environment, reduce or refrain from parties as guests in areas where the outbreak is aggravated; if possible, choose non-peak hours for shopping.
Maintain personal hygiene, such as washing hands regularly and avoiding touching your face with your hands.
When having to go to crowded places, consider wearing a mask if it does not look out of place.
Engage in outdoor (in the park) activities and exercise as usual.
Do not
Try not to go to the hospital and postpone annual physical exams and medical appointments for general medical conditions.
Do not schedule international travel to high-risk areas within the United States.
Not stock up on Food or even hygiene products
Not overly disinfect.
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