Do not wear a mask if you are well” read a warning plastered across the front of Singapore’s main newspaper on Friday, as authorities around
the world sought to calm panic buying of masks seen as a guard against
the fast-spreading coronavirus.To get more news about
slogans on coronavirus, you can visit shine news official website.
In neighboring Malaysia, the government urged people to always have masks and hand sanitizers ready, similar to advice by authorities in
Thailand and Vietnam.Conflicting messages have sowed confusion over how
to protect against an epidemic that has claimed over 200 lives in China
and spread to over 20 countries, with some experts saying wrong handling
of masks could even increase infection risk.
“Wearing a mask only when u feel unwell? Then why do u need soldiers when there isn’t war? It’s better to be safe than sorry” Facebook user
Kenny Chan Wai Kong posted in Singapore, where authorities have
announced plans to give four masks to every household as retailers’
stocks run dry across the island.
In parts of Asia, wearing face masks is common when people are sick or to counter urban pollution.
Official guidance from the World Health Organisation and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention makes no mention of wearing a face
mask as a preventative measure against the virus - but their websites do
not specifically advise against them.
Australia and Taiwan have said healthy people don’t need masks, but Australia has released 1 million masks from the national medical
stockpile, and masks are widely worn in Taiwan’s capital Taipei where
the government has imposed purchase limits and an export ban on
masks.Coronavirus can be transmitted from person to person, although it
is not clear how easily. Most cases have been in people who have been in
the Chinese city of Wuhan at the center of the outbreak, family members
of those infected, or medical workers.
Transmission is likely through contact with an infected person via particles in the air from coughing or sneezing, or by someone touching
an infected person or object with the virus on it and then touching
their mouth, nose or eyes.
“Situations that require a mask are when you are in a crowd...or if you are caring for a sick person. If it makes you feel better, wear a
surgical mask,” Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the Center for Infection
& Immunity at Columbia University said on the Reuters Global
Markets Forum.
Other experts have said disposable surgical masks may not fit the face tightly enough to prevent infection, while some have pointed out
that wrong handling of masks such as touching the front could increase
the likelihood of infection spread.
In Hong Kong, a lawmaker who chairs the city’s government health services panel was slammed over a short video she posted showing people
how to steam and re-use disposable face masks.
