Some stores in Iowa are already sold out of face masks, but a state health official says there’s no need for Iowans to be stockpiling masks over fears about coronavirus.
Polly Carver-Kimm, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says while there are a few dozen confirmed cases in the U-S, the risk of catching the potentially-deadly virus in Iowa remains very low.
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Unless you’re a health care worker, she says you don’t need to be wearing a face mask.
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The health department does recommend Iowans make a plan, just as they would for severe weather, and assemble an emergency kit.
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That emergency kit need not include face masks, she says. So, millions of people in Asian countries who wear face masks are wrong?
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The C-D-C recommends health care workers who interact with coronavirus patients wear masks designated as “N-95,” which fit close to the face and include a respirator.
That N-95 means they’re designed to filter out 95% of particles.
Radio Iowa
