Wary travelers are donning masks on New York City subways and in San Francisco airports. Panicked consumers are arming themselves with disinfectants. Businesses are suspending operations and airlines are halting flights.
As China grapples with a coronavirus outbreak that has killed hundreds of people and infected tens of thousands more, people across the world have grown anxious about being in crowds or traveling in confined spaces like airplanes.
All of this can be confusing. So we asked health professionals how travelers can stay healthy while on the move.
Should I wear a mask?
Philip M. Tierno boarded a flight to Paris not long ago and sat behind a woman who appeared to have a bad cold. She sniffed. She coughed. She didn’t cover her mouth or use a tissue. Dr. Tierno, a professor of microbiology and pathology at N.Y.U. Langone Health in New York City, asked to move. The stewardess said no. Sure enough, within a week, Dr. Tierno was coughing himself.
“It was the only time that I wished I’d had a mask,” he said.
So do masks really work? The answer is yes and no. Dr. Tierno said he had seen people wearing surgical masks on the subway and it was “like having no mask at all.” Air can seep in through the gaps. A cloth mask, too, provides little protection. Sometimes mask wearers cover only their mouths, leaving noses exposed. “For most people, a mask is not necessary,” he said.
When one is needed — mostly in a place where a lot of illnesses have been reported — people should wear an N95 respirator, a heavy-duty mask fitted to the face that filters out 95 percent of smaller air particles. But, Dr. Tierno warned, “it is a very tough mask to breathe through.”
Vicki Hertzberg, director of the Center for Nursing Data Science at Emory University, said travelers should be wary about the people they sit next to on airplanes. (Dr. Tierno had a point!) She is an author of a study that found that the travelers most vulnerable were those seated next to a sick person or in the row in front or behind.
Please! Wash your hands.
This seems so simple that Trevor Noah recently made a joke about it on “The Daily Show.” Health professionals say washing hands with soap and water is the most effective line of defense against colds, flu and other illnesses.
Just think about where your hands have been in the past 24 hours. Now, think about all the hands that have touched airplane tray tables and seatbelt buckles. If that doesn’t give you pause, consider whether you bite your nails, touch your face or rub your eyes. “The 10 dirtiest things are your fingers,” Dr. Tierno said.
Hand washing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If soap and water aren’t available,