More people should realize that OR staff were surgical masks to protect the patient, not themselves. They keep pathogenic microbes in, not out. And, if it's not airborne that that isn't doing any good either. And viruses are way smaller than bacteria; I for one don't know of they do any good to keep airborne viruses in. And the last I heard it's not yet known if this virus can be transmitted by someone who's asymptomatic but probably not, and anyone who is symptomatic shouldn't be out in public. Put it all together and the masks are probably doing no good at all.
Also, it appears that while the new virus is scary because it is new, this one seems to be less deadly than the flu. The next one: who knows?
Ditto, Masks to protect from the spread of viruses is totally bogus and isn't effective. Viruses are way too small and simply pass through.
Researchers ran infected serum during the great influenza epidemic from over 100 years ago. They passed virus infected serum through finer and finer filters. They finally got down to the most fine filter they could use, porcelain. When that serum was finally re-injected into rabbits the rabbits all lived. That tipped off the Johns Hopkins researchers that they were dealing with an incredibly small pathogen. I suspect the masks they are all wearing in China are totally useless in the prevention of the spread of the disease. Kurt