Updated Mar. 9, 2020 9:50 AM
As concern over the spread of the coronavirus grows, cleaning supplies available in stores have become sparse in some cities. Aisles have grown barren of items such as disinfectant wipes, bottled water and toilet paper. At one Walmart in Altoona, Pennsylvania, people stand in line, waiting to use the disinfectant wipes available before picking a shopping cart .
Since the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned in February that it isn't a matter of if, but when the coronavirus spreads across the country, Americans have been trying to find the best way to prepare for the epidemic.
A large section of supplies was sold out over the weekend in a Walmart in central Pennsylvania. There are at least four confirmed cases in the state. (Image/Brian Lada)
Part of preparing for the spread of the coronavirus includes staying educated on the virus, but questions have also begun to pop up about preventive measures against it.
Here are some of the questions that experts have answers for:
1. How can people travel safely?
With spring break beginning or underway for students across America, the question of whether people should continue with their travel plans has surfaced.
The American Automobile Association sent out a press release on Thursday, providing information for anyone contemplating their travel plans -- across the U.S. or internationally.
"Research is important to any traveler ahead of a trip. It's no different with the coronavirus," Senior Vice President of AAA Travel Paula Twidale said. "Become familiar with the Center for Disease Control's recommendations, consult your healthcare professional, talk to your travel provider about waiver policies and chat with a travel agent about travel insurance possibilities before making any decisions."
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All nonessential travel to China and Iran has been discouraged by the the U.S. Department of State Bureau and the CDC. Entry of foreign nationals from these two countries have also been suspended.
Nonessential travel to South Korea and Italy has also been discouraged. Health officials recommend that older adults or people with chronic medical conditions reconsider or postpone travel to Japan.
"Traveling anywhere else is a personal decision you have to make based on all facts available," the press release says. If you do travel, it recommends doing so with items such as:
- Necessary travel documentation, including
health insurance cards - Alcohol-based hand sanitizer with the CDC-approved 60% alcohol content
- Disinfecting wipes
- Extra supplies in the case that your return trip is delayed
The AAA also recommends that people traveling abroad should know the nearest location and contact information of the U.S. embassy or consulate.
An airline passenger wearing a mask makes his way through the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, March 7, 2020, in San Francisco. As cases of the coronavirus surge in Italy, Iran, South Korea, the U.S. and elsewhere, many scientists say it's plain that the world is in the grips of a pandemic — a serious global outbreak. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The CDC also has a page on frequently asked questions about travel.
2. What can parents do to protect their kids?
Professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Dr. William Schaffner, M.D., told the New York Times that parents should take the same steps to protect their kids against the virus as they would take to protect them against the flu. This includes getting a flu shot and making sure they wash their hands frequently.
Schaffner also advised that if there is an outbreak in the same town, families should practice social distancing. In other words, staying at home rather than going to social events.
Passengers wear masks to prevent an outbreak of a new coronavirus in the high-speed train station, in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. The first case of coronavirus in Macao was confirmed on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The infected person, a 52-year-old woman, was a traveller from Wuhan. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A study from late February on the first 425 cases in Wuhan found that there were no cases of the virus found in children under 15-years-old. This lead doctors to believe either children are less likely to be affected or their symptoms were mild enough to escape detection, according to a report by The New England Journal of Medicine.
3. How does not touching your face help against the virus?
Respiratory infections such as pneumonia or the flu, can spread through droplets in the air when someone sick coughs, sneezes or talks near an uninfected person, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). This runs similar to how the CDC believes COVID-19 spreads.
"Respiratory infections can be caused by many different bacteria, viruses, and other disease-causing germs," according to the APIC. "When you touch your face with dirty, unwashed hands, germs can take up residence in your mucus membranes which can lead to an infection."
Respiratory infections can not only spread through respiratory droplets, but through contact as well.
Pope Francis kisses a a baby as he greets faithful in St. Nicholas Basilica, in Bari, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. The Pope is in Bari to preside the closing of the “Mediterranean sea a border of peace” conference. Twenty bishops from the countries overlooking the Mediterranean are attend to talk about peace and dialogue. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
According to the APIC, "When we touch people who are sick, or touch dirty surfaces, we contaminate our hands with germs. We can then infect ourselves with those germs by touching our face."
4. Does hand sanitizer help against a virus?
The CDC recommends people wash their hands with soap and water rather than resorting to hand sanitizer. However, the center recommends hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water is not available.
Soap and water are more effective at removing certain kinds of germs than hand sanitizer, according to the CDC. However, alcohol-based hand sanitizers can deactivate some microbes when used correctly.
Hand sanitizer, among toilet paper and cleaning supplies, have been one of the items people have been stockpiling in preparation for the spread of the coronavirus.
Hand sanitizer is sold out at a grocery store Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus, state Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey announced in a Thursday morning news conference. The announcement came two days after deadly tornadoes went through the area, increasing the demand for sanitation supplies. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Upon finding the hand sanitizer was sold out in stores nearby, one Twitter user posted they would use Tito's Handmade Vodka in a recipe to make their own.
"Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito's Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC," the company responded in a tweet.
5. Who should wear face masks?
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams has repeatedly expressed over Twitter that the general public should not use face masks as a form of protection against COVID-19.
Surgical masks don't protect uninfected people against diseases like the coronavirus, but rather they're supposed to prevent respiratory droplets from spreading, according to Adams.
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Surgical masks don’t provide YOU respiratory protection against diseases like #Coronavirus. They protect others from YOUR cough.
N95 masks require special “fit” testing. Wearing improperly can lead toface touching, &
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According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Patient Page on medical masks, face masks shouldn't be worn by healthy individuals to protect themselves from getting a respiratory infection "because there is no evidence to suggest that face masks worn by healthy individuals are effective in preventing people from becoming ill."
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