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Comment by woutr_be | Hacker News Reader

Having lived through it for the past month here in Hong Kong, please do not panic. I've seen what panicking does, and it really doesn't help anyone. A simple rumour triggered a run on toilet paper, we even had a toilet paper heist, and for what, only to realise there is in fact enough toilet paper.

One recommendation I would make, buy a box of face masks and some hand sanitiser, but only buy the minimum amount you need. I found it absolutely ridiculous that some people here bought all the stock, so that they could keep themselves and their family safe for years, obviously that doesn't help prevent the spread if other people don't have access to those goods.

It seems the measures Hong Kong has taken works, with only around 160 cases so far. I was surprised how quickly it spread over in Europe.

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Don't buy face masks. Face masks are useful for keeping germs from others, not to protect you from them. You should wear a face mask if you're sick to limit the amount of saliva you spread when you cough or sneeze. But if you think a face mask is somehow protecting you from others' coronavirus, it's not.

I would say the same, and I personally think having proper hygiene is far more important. Unfortunately here in Hong Kong, it’s almost mandatory to wear a face mask.

That said, it’s known that you can be infected without showing symptoms. So if you only start wearing one when you show symptoms, it might be to late already.

"Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among the General Population"

"All types of masks reduced aerosol exposure, relatively stable over time, unaffected by duration of wear or type of activity, but with a high degree of individual variation. Personal respirators were more efficient than surgical masks, which were more efficient than home-made masks. Regardless of mask type, children were less well protected. Outward protection (mask wearing by a mechanical head) was less effective than inward protection (mask wearing by healthy volunteers)."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799/

"A more specialized mask, known as an N95 respirator, can protect against the new coronavirus, also called SARS-CoV-2."

https://www.livescience.com/face-mask-new-coronavirus.html

A properly worn face mask, maybe. But it's good only for 20-30 minutes, then it's soaked from the moisture in your breath and no longer does its job.

From the CDC website: "If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a facemask). Facemasks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers."

The key part here is "Facemasks may be in short supply".

There is aplenty of reasons why healthy individuals should wear the masks, including:

1. They could be sick, but don't know it

2. Sick people avoid masks if healthy people don't have them

3. It could help them avoid touching their faces

> But it's good only for 20-30 minutes, then it's soaked from the moisture in your breath and no longer does its job.

The study linked in GP seems to directly refute this.

"Overall protection factors calculated per type of mask were stable over time, and did not change statistically significant with prolonged wearing."

The quote from the CDC makes no claims about efficacy, only that supply is limited and healthcare workers should be given priority.

> I would make, buy a box of face masks and some hand sanitiser

I've been looking for these this past week in Arizona, but the shelves have been empty. I started going to all the stores I usually shop at multiple times per day to find something; its a drain on my time and probably increases my risk of getting stuff just by being outside.

I imagine they'll be hard to come by these days, personally I doubt wearing a face mask will make a real difference. From what I've seen here, most of the cases are from people who had close contact with someone who was already infected, be it over dinner, or from family members. Maybe I'm wrong, but I haven't seen any cases from people getting randomly infected on the streets. At least here in HK I understand, people often come in close contact with strangers, be it on the bus or MTR, of just walking on the streets. But I imagine that in most other countries there's less population density, so it's easier to keep your distance.

"Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among the General Population"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799/

N=28... in a lab-setting.

They even say it themselves: "Furthermore, we should bear in mind that this is an experimental study, with relatively small numbers of volunteers, which limits the generalisability of some of our findings."

You don't need hand sanitizer; just wash your hands regularly with soap and water, and prefer using disposable paper towels over air blowers (they will aerosolize(?) any water with the virus / bacteria around). This should be a thing anyway.

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