Posted on 02/29/2020 3:33:16 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The surgeon general of the United States has urged the public to “stop buying masks,” warning that it could lead to a shortage for healthcare workers and effectively put them and communities at risk.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams made his plea in several Twitter posts on Saturday as Americans rush to purchase disposable face masks and other protective equipment. The demand for masks is leading to shortages that have caused price surges on online shopping platforms Amazon and eBay.
“Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!” Adams wrote in his post, adding that masks are “not effective” in preventing the public from catching the virus and a lack of such protective equipment could put healthcare workers at risk.
Adams added that the best way the public can protect themselves from contracting the virus is to maintain strong preventive actions like staying at home when sick and washing hands with soap and water.
The surgeon general’s remarks echo officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) who also expressed concerns over the lack of protective equipment around the world.
“Our primary concern here is to ensure that our front-line health workers are protected and that they have the equipment they need to do their jobs,” Dr. Michael J. Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergency program, said during a briefing on Friday. “So when we talk about protective equipment and masks, we’re talking about that very specific specialized material that’s needed. And that is under significant pressure.”
Ryan said that masks can stop the wearer from spreading the disease to someone else, but there are limits to preventing a person from being infected.
“Not having a mask does not necessarily put you at any increased [risk] of contracting this disease,” he said, adding that preventive measures are the best way...
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
I stocked up on N95 masks after the first set of California wildfires. Knew they would eventually come in handy. “Be prepared” as the boy scouts say.
Too late.
Friday I went food shopping with our daughter.
Then today my wife went food shopping with her, came back and was amazed at how she “was looking the the expiration date of everything and happy to find foods lasting years.”
I said that’s smart!
If he really didn’t want people buying surgical masks he would have kept his mouth shut.
Guarantee the same idiots buying masks are also sitting at home.
“Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!” Adams wrote in his post, adding that masks are “not effective” in preventing the public from catching the virus ..... and a ...... lack of such protective equipment could put healthcare workers at risk."
Isn't that sentence just a ... weeeeeee bit ... self contradictory?
I suspect that panic buying of these masks is directly related to the amount of political Stupid in the population.
When the government says don’t, then do.
(ten years old)
My thoughts exactly.
masks are “not effective” in preventing the public from catching the virus and a lack of such protective equipment could put healthcare workers at risk.
Um, if they aren’t effective for the public...
Why would healthcare workers need them?
Just asking for a friend...
Unless, of course, you offshore the manufacturing of placebo masks to a country that cuts you off.
If they’re not effective, why do the healthcare workers need them?
Many of us bought some of this stuff weeks ago, or already had some in our prep supplies. Even weeks ago, most vendors on Amazon were giving long shipping dates for N95s, or just saying ‘unavailable’.
Our local drugstore was out of surgical masks at the same time, and we haven’t seen new stock.
We need to bring production of these - and many other things - back home.
Actually, most of the American masks were bought up by Chinese speculators and shipped to China.
“If they’re not effective, why do the healthcare workers need them?”
And we see healthcare workers wearing masks in every news report.
If something really does go south, do you have enough food, enough prescription drugs, enough fuel to light or cook with?
Masks should be the least of your worries.
For drugstores, they are selling out of the back door to their own employees, so they never hit the shelves.
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