Wrong mask puts you at risk

EXPERTS: NO GUIDELINES ON WHAT FACE COVERING IS EFFECTIVE CAN LEAD TO INFECTION

Reported bogus PPE and scarfs as a shield should ‘come under more scrutiny’.

South Africans don’t have proper guidance on wearing the right masks, putting millions at risk, say experts.

Several companies have been criminally charged by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, otherwise known as the Hawks, with others still under investigation for providing substandard personal protective equipment (PPE).

While the National Institute of Communicable Diseases provided guidelines on PPE in the healthcare environment, the legal framework around Covid-19 PPE was not sufficient to protect millions of South Africans, said governance expert Professor Alex van den Heever.

The allegation that several companies may have sold bogus masks to government also posed serious implications for those in the health sector, the prison system and the retail industry, said Dr Safoora Abdool Karim.

“The implications are very serious for healthcare workers because they are relied on to treat patients and are exposed to the virus on a daily basis. They don’t deserve to receive substandard gear,” she said.

Van den Heever said original beliefs about how masks can protect against the virus were changing in the science community.

Studies in the UK tested various masks and scarfs for effectiveness and found that certain scarfs were potentially more dangerous than a regular mask because they tended to break up droplets produced by speaking into tinier drops, making them more likely to hang in the air for longer before dropping to the floor.

Scarfs as a shield should come under more scrutiny, Van den Heever said..

He lamented the lack of SA research aimed at providing guidance on PPE safety and standards, except in the case of the health sector.

“There hasn’t been enough research around the equipment we use and what properties they need to have in different contexts. In the clinical environment we know the masks they use have certain materials that protect more than others,” he said.

“The guideline on these masks deliberately specified that the material must also have some anti-microbial elements. Those masks are replaced regularly and is the type used by people with a high exposure to

Covid-19, such as doctors.” Van den Heever said it was near impossible to take all ineffective masks off the market without regulations. “Surgical masks are not typically available to the public and there is a huge variety of masks that were more affordable, but likely far less effective.” Health workers union Nehawu was infuriated by reports of bogus masks possibly infiltrating the healthcare sector.

Hundreds of nurses and doctors who have died this year, are believed to have caught the disease at work as a result of incorrect PPE, said spokesperson Khaya Xaba.

“‘Covid-preneurs’ benefitted from the outbreak of the coronavirus and exploited their close proximity to those in power to land contracts that they did not have the expertise to fulfil.

“Unfortunately, this has led to the death of many front-line workers because of substandard PPE,” said Xaba.

‘Covidpreneurs’ exploited the virus