Though health officials have warned Americans to prepare for the spread of the novel coronavirus in the U.S., people shouldn’t wear face masks to prevent the spread of the infectious illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. surgeon general.
But that’s not the only reason Americans may want to think twice about using masks, one expert told MarketWatch.
Most people don’t know how to use face masks correctly, and a rush to buy masks could prevent the people who need them most — health care providers — from getting them, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a scholar at the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
In fact the U.S. surgeon general recently urged the public to “STOP BUYING MASKS!” “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!,” wrote Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Twitter
Here’s a dangerous idea: what if it turns out that an authoritarian regime is better-equipped to handle the coronavirus emergency than liberal democracies?
What if the Chinese Communist Party teaches us all a lesson?
It isn’t supposed to be that way. Labelled secretive and paranoid by the West, China is meant to be panic-stricken about the mystery killer virus spiralling out of control and turning into an existential crisis.
It should be China’s Chernobyl moment: harkening back to the nuclear disaster in 1986, that is now widely accepted as the tipping point that helped usher in the end to the Soviet Union.
Health officials in China have published the first details of more than 44,000 cases of Covid-19, in the biggest study since the outbreak began.
Data from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) finds that more than 80% of the cases have been mild, with the sick and elderly most at risk.
The research also points to the high risk to medical staff.
The Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital was delivered on Sunday in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in central China’s Hubei province, after 10 days of construction. With advanced and comprehensive medical equipment, the hospital will join the battle against the novel coronavirus.
With an area of over 80,000 square meters, the Huoshenshan Hospital has 419 wards and 1,000 beds, including 39 intensive care units. Twelve-hundred sets of heating and ventilation equipment and oxygen supply systems have been installed at present, and more medical essentials will be introduced soon, said the person in charge of the construction team.
In addition, a remote consultation application system has been set up at the hospital. With its assistance, the Huoshenshan Hospital can timely consult with other front-line hospitals to provide more efficient diagnosis and treatment via the gigabit fiber.
Inside the two-story main building, air conditioners, window facilities, and disinfection equipment in wards were all in place. In addition, each ward has a bathroom and a television with 20 channels available.
“All medical equipment here is advanced and is installed in strict accordance with international standards. Moreover, 24-hour power supply is guaranteed at the hospital,” said a worker on site.
About 40,000 square meters of greenery have been planted to beautify the environment and help patients and medics relax themselves.
Replicating Beijing’s SARS treatment model in 2003, Leishenshan (Thunder God Mountain) Hospital, another makeshift hospital to combat the novel coronavirus, is under construction and will be completed on Feb. 5, with a capacity of 1,600 beds.
The construction of 2nd makeshift hospital, Leishenshan, for #coronavirus patients in #Wuhan, the epicenter of #outbreak, is 40% completed.1,600 beds are planned in Leishenshan Hospital.
