疫情当前,不需要口罩的你请别再买啦

Quit Buying Coronavirus Masks You Don't Need

疫情当前,不需要口罩的你请别再买啦

When a disease outbreak is ongoing, there are important things that uninfected people need to know and do, like washing hands. There are also things not to do, because they are mostly useless and actually interfere with people who need them. For most of us, face masks fall into the second category.

疾病爆发时，未感染者需要了解一些重要事项，包括洗手。当然，有些事是不需要做的，因为这些事不仅没用，还会影响真正需要他们的人。对于大多数人而言，口罩属于第二类。

As we discussed earlier, surgical masks can help you stop spreading your germs to someone else, but they're of limited usefulness in protecting you from coronavirus in the outside world. Respirator masks are a bit more effective, but unless you're in a hospital or in a high risk area (like Wuhan) they're overkill.

我们之前讨论过，外科医用口罩可防止将细菌传播给他人，但在防护新型冠状病毒方面，它们的作用有限。N95口罩的效果更佳，但除非住院或身处高风险地区（如武汉），否则佩戴此类口罩实属浪费。

So what’s the harm? If supplies were unlimited, there wouldn't be any. But there are only so many face masks manufactured every year, and a lot of them are actually made in China. As Maryn McKenna writes here, China is choosing not to export as many of their masks and other personal protective equipment, because they need them at home.

有什么害处呢？若物资充足，并不存在害处。但每年生产的口罩只有那么多，且大多数口罩都在中国生产。正如玛丽恩·麦肯纳（Maryn McKenna）所写的那样，中国目前正减少向其他国家出口口罩和其它个人防护设备，因为中国国内更需要这些物资。

At a press briefing today, the World Health Organization's director-general noted that demand is up 100-fold for masks and related supplies, and prices are now up to 20 times higher than usual. Some of that is to be expected in an epidemic situation, but then he adds: "This situation has been exacerbated by widespread inappropriate use of [personal protective equipment such as masks]."

世卫组织总干事在今天的资讯发布会上指出，口罩和相关用品的需求增长了100倍，价格比平时高出20倍。疫情发生时，某些情况是可以预料的，但他补充道：“口罩等个人防护设备的不恰当使用加剧了这一情况。”

The WHO is working to get supplies to the places that need them most, but stockpiles are already low. This is a real issue that has the power to affect the ability of clinicians to properly care for patients and prevent the virus's spread in hospitals.

世卫组织正努力将物资运到最需要的地方，但库存并不充足。这个问题有可能影响临床医生适当照顾患者并防止病毒在医院传播的能力。

What you can do

你可以做什么？

Don't buy masks out of fear—Either fear of coronavirus, or fear that stockpiles will soon be gone. Buying masks you don't need is just making life harder for doctors, and for people with medical needs like your neighbor with asthma and a dust allergy who wears a respirator when she cleans her house.

不要出于恐惧而购买口罩——无论是对新型冠状病毒的恐惧还是对物资短缺的恐惧。购买用不到的口罩只会使医生和其他有医疗需求的人（例如患有哮喘和粉尘过敏的邻居，他/她在打扫房屋时需要戴口罩）的生活变得更加艰难。

If you're concerned about catching coronavirus, it may help you to read up on the facts. There are only 12 cases of the virus in the US right now, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker; you're far more likely to contract the flu than coronavirus.

如果您担心自己感染新型冠状病毒，我们在此帮您梳理下事实。约翰·霍普金斯（Johns Hopkins）大学追踪的数据表示，目前在美国只有12人确诊。相比感染新型冠状病毒，你更有可能感染流感。