“Can you speak on the effectiveness of masks to address the problem? Are we in short supply? Do we need more? How is that process going?

We certainly need more. We have much more supply now than we had a week or two ago.

You have to prioritize who needs the mask and who should wear it. First and foremost, healthcare providers — doctors, nurses and health providers who are taking care of a person with coronavirus disease — to protect them from getting infected. Because what’s happened in Italy and what happened in China is you can knockout your healthcare force and then you’re really in trouble.

The other one is, if you are infected, to put a mask on to prevent you from spreading it to someone else.

The third priority is the general population, who if they wear a mask they may assume that it’s 100% protected — it’s just not. It’s probably, you can guess that number, maybe 50%. So when we say you don’t need to wear a mask, what we’re really saying is make sure you prioritize it first for the people who need the mask.

In a perfect world, if you had all the masks you wanted, then you could get some degree of protection, but make sure you prioritize it well.” Article Link: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/read-the-full-covid-19-qa-with-stephen-curry-and-dr-fauci/2263135/

  • Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director
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