People should wear surgical masks and frequently wash their hands to protect against a new type of coronavirus, doctors said on Tuesday after Taiwan confirmed its first case of the virus earlier in the day.
People should avoid visiting Wuhan, China, where the new novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak is believed to have started last month, Huang Ching-tai (黃景泰), chief of the division of infectious diseases at the department of internal medicine at New Taipei City’s Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, told reporters.
There is limited knowledge about how the virus is transmitted, but as more than a dozen medical workers in China are confirmed to have contracted it, it is highly likely that the virus is spread by contact, meaning that the infected medical workers might have touched surfaces contaminated by respiratory droplets from infected individuals, Huang said.
People in Taiwan should reduce their visits to crowded places and should wear a surgical mask during such visits, he said.
People are advised to frequently wash their hands thoroughly with soap, Huang said adding that they should not touch their face, especially eyes, nose or mouth, before washing their hands.
Surgical masks, if properly worn, are effective at preventing the spread of infections, he said, adding that once a mask is damaged or soiled, the wearer should immediately replace it.
There is no need to wear N95 masks, as they can make it more difficult for wearers to breathe and most people are unable to wear them for a long period, Huang added.
Hwang Kao-pin (黃高彬), director of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at China Medical University in Taichung, said that people who have to visit China should avoid contact with animals.
Wearing surgical masks during long journeys, such as on an airplane or train, also offers better protection, he added.
The government has already raised its travel alert for Wuhan, calling on Taiwanese to avoid visiting it.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that wearing a surgical mask can reduce a healthy person’s risk of getting sick by up to 80 percent.
Chuang also said that there is no need for regular people to wear N95 masks, which are more suitable for medical workers.
Demand for surgical and N95 masks has risen over the past few weeks, retailers have said.
According to health and beauty retail group A.S. Watson Group, sales of face masks increased 30 percent during the first three weeks of this month, compared with the same period last year.
Online shopping site ihergo said that it sold 150,000 face masks from Jan. 1 to Monday, which is nearly three times the amount it sold last month.
The CDC said that it has 44 million surgical masks and 1.9 million N95 masks — more than enough to meet demand.
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