Biosecurity

Experts now say we SHOULD be wearing medical masks to stop the spread of coronavirus - just weeks after the Surgeon General told people not to buy them due to a massive shortage

Medical professionals in Asia are now saying that N95 face masks can help curb the spread of coronavirus - despite advice from the US Surgeon General that they shouldn't be bought by the public amid mass shortages for doctors.

'This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role — you've got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth,' George Gao, who works with the Chinese Center for Disease and Prevention, told Science Magazine. 

'Many people have asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections. If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others,' Gao said. 

In Asia, masks have become commonplace during the outbreak, but Americans were advised to only don them if they were already sick.