Panic buying of masks puts health care workers lives at risk, WHO says

A shortage of masks, gloves, and other protective gear “is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases” warned the World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement on Tuesday. A frightened public has been buying up masks and other equipment, leaving limited supplies for health care workers who need the gear the most.

Masks can be useful for people who are sick with a respiratory virus to keep them from spreading the illness to others. They are most useful for health care workers who come face to face with disease every day.

Health experts, including those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), do not currently recommend that people who are well wear masks as protection against diseases...

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