冠狀病毒常見問題:自制口罩有效嗎?

冠狀病毒常見問題:自制口罩有效嗎?

Since the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic, Americans have been told by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to wear masks unless they are sick, caring for a sick person who is unable to wear one or working in health care.

自全球冠狀病毒大流行開始以來，美國疾病控制與預(yù)防中心就告誡美國人，除非生病、照顧無法戴口罩的病人或在醫(yī)療機構(gòu)工作，否則不要戴口罩。

Numerous reasons have been given: That they don't offer significant protection from germs. That regular people don't typically wear them correctly. That they'll give people a false sense of security and cause them to be lax about hand-washing and social distancing.

人們給出了許多理由:它們不能有效地保護人體免受細菌侵害。普通人一般不會正確地佩戴它們。他們會給人們一種虛假的安全感，導(dǎo)致他們在洗手和(保持)社會距離方面松懈。

And most of all: that there aren't enough masks and respirators for the health-care workers who desperately need them so leave the masks to them.

最重要的是:沒有足夠的口罩和呼吸器供急需的醫(yī)護人員使用，所以還是把口罩留給他們吧。

With this new attitude come many questions — which we'll attempt to answer here.

這種新的態(tài)度帶來了許多問題——我們將在這里嘗試回答這些問題。

Can face coverings prevent the spread of the virus?

口罩能防止病毒傳播嗎?

The primary benefit of covering your nose and mouth is that you protect others. While there is still much to be learned about the novel coronavirus, it appears that many people who are infected are shedding the virus – through coughs, sneezes and other respiratory droplets – for 48 hours before they start feeling sick. And others who have the virus – up to 25%, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield — may never feel symptoms but may still play a role in transmitting it.

捂住鼻子和嘴的主要好處是保護別人。雖然對這種新型冠狀病毒還有很多需要了解的地方，但似乎許多感染者在開始感覺不舒服之前，已經(jīng)通過咳嗽、打噴嚏和其他呼吸道飛沫將病毒排出了48小時。根據(jù)疾病控制和預(yù)防中心主任羅伯特·雷德菲爾德博士的說法，其他感染了這種病毒的人——高達25%，可能永遠不會感覺到癥狀，但仍可能在傳播過程中發(fā)揮作用。

That's why wearing a mask even if you don't feel sick can be a good idea.

這就是為什么即使你不覺得不舒服也戴口罩是個好主意的原因。

If I'm wearing a mask and someone sneezes on me, would the mask offer some protection?

如果我戴著口罩，有人朝我打噴嚏，口罩能提供保護嗎?

Yes. But only if you use the mask properly and don't touch it with your hands afterward.

是的。但前提是你正確使用口罩，之后不要用手觸摸它。

Those droplets from a cough or sneeze would hit your mask instead of your mouth and nose — good news. But the next step is to take the mask off by the ear bands and either wash or discard it – without touching the front of it.

咳嗽或打噴嚏時的飛沫會落在口罩上，而不是嘴巴和鼻子上，這是個好消息。但下一步是把口罩從耳箍上取下，清洗或丟棄，不要接觸口罩的正面。

If you touch the front of the mask, whatever that person coughed or sneezed on it is now on your hands.

如果你觸摸口罩的正面，無論那個人在上面咳嗽或打噴嚏，現(xiàn)在都在你的手上。

What about homemade masks?

自制口罩怎么樣?

As NPR has previously reported, some research has shown that cotton T-shirt material and tea towels might help block respiratory droplets emitting from sick people — though it's not clear how much protection they provide.

據(jù)美國國家公共電臺此前報道，一些研究表明，棉質(zhì)t恤和茶巾可能有助于阻止病人呼出的飛沫，盡管還不清楚它們能提供多少保護。

We don't yet know exactly how effective homemade masks are, but Griffin thinks they're a good idea — he's even taken to wearing one over his N95 respirator.

我們還不知道自制口罩到底有多有效，但格里芬認為這是個好主意他甚至開始在N95口罩上戴上了自制口罩。

How often do I need to wash it?

我需要多久洗一次?

Griffin says to think of a mask as like underwear: It needs to be washed after each use.

格里芬說，把口罩想象成內(nèi)衣:每次使用后都需要清洗。

So if you're wearing a cloth mask, put it into the laundry basket immediately. If it's disposable, throw it away.

所以如果你戴著布口罩，馬上把它放進洗衣籃里。如果是一次性的，就扔掉。

Is there one best mask design?

有沒有最好的口罩設(shè)計?

There is little data so far on cloth or homemade masks in general — let alone data that dictates how many pleats to put on your home-sewn version.

到目前為止，關(guān)于布料或自制口罩的數(shù)據(jù)還很少——更別說那些規(guī)定了在自家縫制的口罩上要打多少褶的數(shù)據(jù)了。

Griffin says the best material to use is a tight-weave cotton. "Don't use a synthetic or a polyester because they've looked at the virus's ability to survive on surfaces, and spandex is the worst," he says.

格里芬說，最好的材料是緊密編織的棉布。“不要使用合成纖維或聚酯纖維，因為他們已經(jīng)研究了病毒在表面上的生存能力，而氨綸是最糟糕的，”他說。

Would a scarf work?

圍巾有用嗎?

Probably not as well as a mask that fits closely to your face.

也許不如一個貼合你臉的口罩好。

"You can imagine if you put a loosely knit scarf with lots of holes in it ... that would not be very effective," says Dr. Michael Klompas, an infectious disease physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

“你可以想象，如果你圍一條織得很松、上面有很多洞的圍巾。。。這不會非常有效，”布里格姆女子醫(yī)院傳染病醫(yī)生邁克爾·克洛帕斯博士說。

The goal is to create a barrier that catches droplets and keeps others from coming in, so you want coverage that is tightly woven and close-fitting.

這樣做的目的是為了制造一種屏障，既能捕捉飛沫，又能防止其他飛沫進入，所以你需要的是編織緊密、貼身的覆蓋物。