随着对新冠病毒的担忧在世界范围内蔓延，人们必须做出初步的卫生决策。他们想知道自己对被感染应该要有多担心，以及应该如何应对。
Some decision can have unexpected results however. For example, because of fears over getting infected, large numbers of people have bought masks to cover their faces. This led United States Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams to write this message on Twitter: "Seriously people – STOP BUYING MASKS"
但是某些决策可能会产生意外结果。例如，由于担心被感染，许多人买了口罩佩戴。这让美国外科医生杰罗姆·亚当斯博士在推特上写道：“严肃地说，请停止购买口罩。”
He noted that masks are not effective in protecting the general public. The masks should be kept available for those who really need them. He added that "if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!"
他指出，口罩无法有效地保护公众。应该把口罩留给真正需要使用它们的人。他还说：“如果医护人员没有口罩来照顾患者，就会把医护人员以及我们的社区置入危险之中。”
Different levels of concern not unusual
不同程度的担忧并不罕见
It is hard to know just how concerned people should be. Someone who lives near an area with many reported cases of coronavirus may be right to be more concerned than someone who does not.
人们很难知道需要有多担心。身边有多起新冠病毒确诊病例的人可能比身边没有确诊病例的人更需要担心。
But experts note that people do not only make decisions based on calculations.There are also emotional and psychological influences that play a part.
但是专家指出，人们不仅会根据推算来做出决定。情绪和心理影响也会发挥作用。
David Ropeik is an expert on risk who retired from Harvard University in Massachusetts. He said, "Emotions are the filters through which we see facts."
大卫·罗佩克是马萨诸塞州哈佛大学一位退休的风险专家。他说：“情感是我们了解事实的过滤器。”
Paul Slovic is a psychology professor at the University of Oregon. He said people's perception of risk can increase so that it becomes different from the advice of medical officials.
保罗·斯洛维奇是俄勒冈大学的心理学教授。他说，人们对风险的认知可能会提升，所以它会变得跟医务人员的建议有所不同。
For example, less is known about the new coronavirus than the seasonal flu, which is blamed for far more deaths each year. But the new coronavirus is not fully understood and seems to be difficult to control.
例如，人们对新冠病毒的认知要少于季节性流感，季节性流感是每年造成更多死亡的罪魁恶首。但是新冠病毒尚未被人们完全了解，而且似乎更难控制。
Slovic said that because "there is no vaccine that can prevent it" and it spreads easily, news of the disease hurts our personal sense of control. He said our sense of risk increases when we do not feel like we know what to do to protect ourselves.
斯洛维奇表示，因为当前没有新冠病毒的疫苗，并且它更容易传播，因此关于这种疾病的新闻损害了我们个人的控制感。他说，当我们不知道该怎么做才能保护自己的时候，我们的风险意识就会提升。
At the same time, the information that people are getting from the news and social media does not ease their concerns, Slovic said. He noted that reports place attention on people getting sick and dying and not on less serious cases.
斯洛维奇表示，与此同时，人们从新闻和社交媒体得到的信息并不能缓解他们的担忧。他指出，新闻报道关注的是濒临死亡的患者，而不是轻症患者。
To make matters worse, "everybody is telling everybody about it," Ropeik said. This increases the perceived risk.
罗佩克表示，更糟糕的是，人们都在传这些。这增加了认知风险。
Vincent Covello is director of the Center for Risk Communication, a business advisory group. He has a list of 17 psychological influences that people consider when they think about risk. For example, he said people worry more when they do not trust the officials or agencies in charge.
文森特·科维罗是风险沟通中心的主任，这是一家商业咨询机构。他列出了人们在考虑风险时会考虑到的17种心理影响。例如，当人们不信任负责此事的官员或机构时，人们就会更加担心。
People also get more concerned about involuntary things, like exposure to an infected person than voluntary ones, like smoking or spending too much time in the sun.
人们还会更加担心并非出自本意的事情，例如接触感染者，而不是出自本意的事情，例如吸烟或者日晒过久。
Ropeik said people can reduce their risk of overreacting by not spreading news of every little development. "Don't just share the scary parts," he advised.
科维罗表示，人们可以通过不要传播每一条小细微事态发展的新闻来减少过度反应的风险。他建议：“不要光分享那些让人害怕的新闻。”
Finally, Ropeik said it is good idea to take a break from the 24-hour news. "Log off, put your phone down, pick up a book," he said.
最后，罗佩克表示，最好是暂时远离24小时新闻。他说：“关掉（电脑），放下手机，拿起书。”
I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
我是小马里奥·里特。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)