Mass hysteria is sweeping the nation. News of the deadly coronavirus seems to be striking fear into everyone. A natural reaction would be to buy a pack of face mask to help prevent the Coronavirus. The reality of this is that facemask are sold out in most stores. With facemask being sold out seemingly everywhere, the question arises, are face mask really effective?

There are different types of facemask on the market. The most effective type of facemask for protection is the N-95 Facemask. The N-95 is intended to achieve a very close facial fit and is very efficient for filtration of airborne particles. The N-95 facemask is the most effective form of protection, but they are not commonly sold in stores. The facemask that are commonly available in pharmacies and supermarkets don’t protect against viruses like the corona virus due to its loose fit over the mouth. The intention of facemask in relation to the corona virus is to help the spread of the viruses from infected victims, not to prevent it.

The best way to help prevent getting the corona virus and other forms of similar viruses is constant hand washing, avoid going out while sick, and; avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

The people who need facemask the most are the people who are visiting a country affected by the Coronavirus. The mass hysteria caused by the virus creates an extreme scarcity of these facemask on the market. There is also an extreme scarcity of hand sanitizer caused by the virus. Demand for hand sanitizer has gone up 1,400% from December to January and has only continued to decrease since then according to Adobe Analytics, Even the FBI purchased 40,000$ worth of hand sanitizer and face mask in case of a Coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

Our local Rite Aid near big saver is feeling the same scarcity and panic as other pharmacies are across the nature. A sign was recently posted limiting to one face mask packet per customer, as well as a cashier stating “I’ve never seen hand sanitzer fly off the shelves like this..or anything fly off the shelves like this”