Coronavirus continues to spread, and so does the media’s obsession with fueling ‘pandemic panic’ across the country.
As a result, irrational fear is prompting many of your fellow countrymen to take unnecessary precautions that risk creating an entirely new set of public health and safety challenges.
For example, so many Americans are buying masks in a fruitless attempt to avoid Coronavirus infection that the Surgeon General is begging them to knock it off.
“Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams tweeted Saturday.
https://twitter.com/Surgeon_General/status/1233725785283932160?s=20
“They are NOT effective in preventing [the] general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”
Adams insisted that “everyday preventive actions” were the “best way to protect yourself,” suggesting “staying home when you are sick and washing hands with soap and water” and seeking help if you are sick.
“Get your #FluShot- fewer flu patients = more resources for #COVID19,” Adams said of wanting to be able to prioritize response to the new virus, as the Trump administration reportedly prepares to declare an emergency.
Dr. William Schaffner, a preventive medicine professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told CNN that the rush to buy masks is a “psychological thing.”
Surgeon General Adams also addressed alleged hate crimes over the virus, which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
“Diseases can make anyone sick regardless of their race or ethnicity. People of Asian descent, including Chinese Americans, are not more likely to get COVID19 than any other American,” said Adams.
WIBC host Tony Katz offered his take on Pandemic Panic in today’s Popcorn Moment. Click below to listen.
https://omny.fm/shows/tony-katz-and-the-morning-news/keep-calm-and-wash-your-hands
(Photo: Huntstock/Getty Images)
