Face masks in short supply amid virus outbreak

People around the world are buying up protective face masks in hopes of keeping a new virus from China at bay. Some companies have required them for employees. But do the masks work? It depends. In Bangkok, a 67-year-old retiree said she is confused about which mask to wear and how to properly wear it.

"I just saw on TV that when you are wearing surgical masks with green or blue colors, you should turn the colored side to face outward," Jutamas Purith said. "But then it says if you are sick, you should turn the colored side inward. It is still confusing."

The germs don't generally spread through the air one at a time, experts say.

Instead, viruses ride from person to person on droplets from a sneeze or cough. Those droplets land on hands and other surfaces, where they are touched by others, who then touch their own eyes, noses or mouths.

"So masks are very sensible for avoiding hand-to-mouth contact and passing the virus and also being spread through coughs and sneezes," Trudie Lang said, a researcher at the University of Oxford.

"But I can't comment on what makes a good mask or a bad mask," she added.

None of this, however, is based on rigorous research.

A 2017 review of studies in health care workers suggested masks offer some protection against SARS, but the authors noted: "existing evidence is sparse and findings are inconsistent."

The best way to avoid getting sick from the new virus is to wash your hands with soap and water.

If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masks for people being evaluated for the new virus, people confirmed to have it, household members and caregivers.

Airline crew should offer a face mask to a sick traveller, the CDC said.

Health care workers treating patients with the new virus are advised by the CDC to take additional precautions such as goggles or face shields.

Feng Zijian, deputy head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China, said there is no need to wear a mask when you are by yourself.

"When you go to public places, if you are to take public transportation, we recommend the wearing of masks," he said.

A health official in Hong Kong said wearing the same mask for several days is not effective.

In Tokyo, 50-year-old hotel employee Yumi Murata, said "I take it as a wakeup call for us to take precautions against an outbreak like this.

Masks have been commonly used in some countries when wearers are sick, fighting allergies or on days when air pollution is bad.

The new virus has fuelled demand for them around the world. People in Taiwan can be seen wearing masks around the train station in Taipei as an extra precaution in crowded areas. A factory in China is working around the clock to feed the growing demand for masks after the lunar new year holiday.