Much ado about face masks

We wear masks to protect not just ourselves but others as well. But after months of mask-wearing, the urge to compromise is growing as complacency sets in.

I ADMIT it. I’m getting rather careless. After months of diligently practising the recommended Covid-19 SOP, the desire to cut corners is growing.

And it largely has to do with the face mask. After six months of wearing them, I believe many, like me, have a big pile of used ones. I keep mine in a Ziploc bag. I do that because I find it hard to add them to our already horrendous mountain of trash created by our single-use habit.

As it is, used disposable masks have become an environmental nightmare and, even if they are one-time use products, I feel there must be a way to extend their use. This issue has been the urgent focus of many researchers as well as armchair experts.

I will come back to this later, but let me get back to my initial confession of becoming careless.

After a fever scare, “Viral + fever = scariest thing now” (The Star, July 29; online at https://bit.ly/2FNR92Y), I have bounced back to feeling confident about staying safe and infection-free.

Perhaps I should say over-confident because these days, I am pushing it with that mask. Despite this accessory deemed a vital tool as an infection circuit breaker and mandatory in public places, there is still plenty of confusion on its use and disposal.

I make it a point to wear my mask properly, meaning covering my nose and mouth down to my chin and pulling it as tightly as possible.

But I have seen many in busy public places who wear it with their noses exposed and sometimes even their mouths, too, with the mask wrapping their chin and jawline instead.

That really irks me and brings to my mind how people flaunt other safety precautions, like wearing helmets and seat belts.

Both are mandatory but many motorcyclists are getting away with unfastened helmets and motorists “wearing” safety belts that don’t retract but are thrown across the body just for show. In this scenario, the people responsible are risking their own lives, so good luck to them.

When it comes to face masks, however, the message is very clear: We wear them to protect not just ourselves but others around us, too.

But how is this being enforced? Does it count as long as a person has a mask on his face, regardless of how it’s worn?

It has also been drummed into us that the level of effective protection is very dependent on the quality of the mask. But how do enforcement officers ascertain whether the masks are used or fresh ones?

Even me, a conscientious mask wearer, has of late had the devil whispering in my ear: “My dear, the mask is supposed to be good for at least four hours. You went to the supermarket for just a couple of hours and you didn’t even wear it in the car. It’s still dry and intact. Why not just use it again for the next outing?”

So far, I have resisted the temptation, but I know the urge to cut corners, to make the masks last, is there.

As always, I Googled for answers.

Early on in the pandemic, a Taiwanese government official advised the public to use their rice or electric cookers to disinfect their masks for reuse.

Other touted methods include using UV-C rays, microwaves and steaming with irons. But not all are fully verified nor are meant for home use.

Thankfully, I found new advice from a usatoday.com article dated Aug 18,2020, and realised the error of my ways.

It quotes Kirsten Koehler, an associate professor of environmental health and engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, which I find reassuring.

Firstly, used masks are deemed a biohazard and we aren’t supposed to touch the fabric part. But we all break that rule by pulling it off or down to talk, eat, drink, scratch our nose, etc, during the course of the day.

It’s tough to be so conscientious but we should really bear that in mind.

As for post-use treatment, cloth masks can be either hand- or machine-washed without bleach, air-dried for two days or ironed.

For used surgical masks and N95 respirators, Koehler says, “The best strategy is to isolate it for a week in a breathable container such as a paper bag.” That’s based on data on how long the virus stays alive on such masks.

But don’t keep them in a plastic bag as it “may lead to accumulation of moisture and development of bacteria.” So much for my Ziploc bag.

What’s more, she adds, “Surgical masks should not be washed, because liquid damages the filter.”

It’s as simple as that.

But it may still be possible to decontaminate used masks in a plastic bag with this advice from India-based Narayana Health, which operates a network of hospitals across that country: “If

(the surgical mask) is dry and the layers and shape are intact, put it in a zip lock pouch with a desiccated gel. The gel absorbs moisture and keeps the mask dry” with the caveat “If the mask is intact and not torn, it can be reused for three days. If it’s worn by an infected person, it should never be reused or shared.”

But if people choose not to extend the lifespan of their masks, they must dispose of them properly. More and more, we see used face masks either dropped or discarded deliberately on streets and elsewhere.

That’s why Narayana Health made the “earnest request to all” to not “throw the used mask indiscriminately in lifts, parks, workplaces, homes, open dust bins as it can pose a potential health hazard to others because the masks have respiratory secretions on them that can be dispersed and transmitted through the air.”

Lastly they add: “Please be sensitive. And always wash your hands before and after taking off the mask.”

Can we all really try to do that?

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

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