Shuaicheng Ke regularly rides the bus on campus but lately he’s been wearing something new on his way to class: a face mask.
“When going into the bus, I will put mask on,” said Ke.
With the coronavirus spreading rapidly, he is not taking any chances and he is not alone.
The demand for masks is so high on campus that the Olin Health Center has run out of them.
However, medical experts say that wearing a mask is not the best way to protect yourself.
Linda Vail is the Ingham County Health Officer.
She recommends “covering your cough, washing your hands and staying home and away from other people if you’re sick.”
One meter.
This is how far the virus droplets can spread from an infected person’s cough or sneeze.
In that case, wearing a N95 mask may help protect the mouth but that is not the only way the coronavirus can spread.
“You can touch surfaces where those droplets mays have been and even touch the eyes so then it’s the eyes is where the virus enters the body,” said Vail.
Fortunately, she said that the current risk of infection for Michigan residents is “very very very slim” and researchers are already working on a vaccine.
Until then, Ke is taking all precautions.