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Will It Be Safe To Go To Florida In September? Dr. Mallika Marshall Answers Your Coronavirus Questions

BOSTON (CBS) — Dr. Mallika Marshall is answering your coronavirus-related medical questions. If you have a question for Dr. Mallika, email her or message her on Facebook or Twitter.

Dr. Mallika is offering her best advice, but as always, consult your personal doctor before making any decisions about your personal health.

"My friends are planning a trip to Florida in September. I feel nervous about booking with the surge of cases right now. Do you think it is safe to go?"-Maria

Florida is really heating in terms of cases right now, leading the country along with Texas and California in terms of the number of new cases daily. I don't think this would be a wise time to book a vacation in Florida and you would likely be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days upon your return.

"I'm glad to see a lot of folks wearing masks, but many of them are wearing the masks below their noses. Is this doing them (or me) any good?" -Virginia 

You're right. For a mask to be effective, it needs to cover both your mouth and your nose.

Sybil says she uses steroid eye drops for an eye condition and wonders if they might also be protecting her from COVID-19.

A recent study suggested that a steroid called dexamethasone may help some patients who are critically ill from COVID-19 but it could also harm some patients who are infected as well. This needs to be studied further. Regardless, steroid eye drops are not going to protect you from getting COVID-19.

Mark wonders whether wearing a face shield will provide better protection than wearing a face mask.

You may see healthcare workers who are seeing patients suspected of having coronavirus wearing both masks and face shields, but for the general public, it's probably not necessary. If you stay at least six feet from others while in public, wearing a face mask should be adequate. However, according to Johns Hopkins, if you are in close contact with someone who is not wearing a mask, adding a face shield on top of a mask may provide some additional protection.

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