The ANSM decided at the end of April: to wash a fabric mask properly and kill all traces of the virus, it had to be put at 60 degrees for at least 30 minutes. The instructions collide and evolve over the course of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Academy of Medicine has just given its opinion on the matter!
No need to wash your masks at 60 degrees, she points out in a press release. She adds that a mask is usable (and effective) as long as its mesh is in good condition, as long as there is no hole in the fabric. She writes : “these masks are reusable after each washing cycle – drying as long as their qualities are not altered“. At last, “they should be changed when they get wet and never worn for more than a day. “
This information contrasts with the instructions for industrial fabric masks linked to a number of washes ranging from 10 to 50 times.
They are less effective than surgical ones, but …
The Academy of Medicine has returned to the use of fabric masks. Indeed, they are less waterproof and less filtering than surgical masks. But for the public space, where the wearing of the mask is generalized in France, it is preferable to choose it. Why ? Insofar as its wearing is limited in time, and it must be changed when it is wet: the economic aspect comes into play. Not to mention the ecological aspect, which it also mentions. On the other hand, for patients or care activities, it is better to favor the surgical mask.
According to the Academy of Medicine, it should be applied: “the obligation to wear a mask, systematically associated with distancing measures (…) in all public places, closed and open, according to rules that are easy to understand, apply and control“in order to simplify the management of the crisis and the questions surrounding the mask.
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