Wuhan pneumonia

In December 2019, pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus—known as 2019-nCoV—broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province. There are many members of the virus family, but coronaviruses tend to cause respiratory infections, from typical ones such as the common cold to more serious ones such as SARS and MERS.

Experts advise that you should avoid traveling to China, especially Wuhan, in the near future. Wash your hands frequently. Do not touch your nose and mouth or rub your eyes. Wear a surgical mask in crowded places and on long-distance transportation, such as trains or planes.

According to research, surgical masks are quite effective in preventing the spread of influenza viruses. Even medical personnel wear surgical masks when they treat influenza patients. However, due to the Lunar New Year holidays, mask manufacturers paused production, leading many people to report that they cannot buy masks at all. In response, the government announced that 6 million masks have been released each of the last three days. Because of the emergency, each person is allowed to purchase only three masks. I hope that the public will not panic and begin to hoard more masks than they need.