How safe are homemade masks? Check govt manual - Here is what you must know and do to stay safe
Are you using homemade masks made of easily available items like old vests, t-shirts and handkerchiefs? If yes, you need to be extra careful because these masks are not totally safe.
Are you using homemade masks made of easily available items like old vests, t-shirts and handkerchiefs? If yes, you need to be extra careful because these masks are not totally safe. Government’s scientific advisor has issued a manual for homemade masks, saying that they are only 70% effective.
Masks are being used by a lot of people as they lower the chances of coronavirus entering the respiratory system through droplets left in the air from an infected person. Wearing masks is especially recommended for people living in densely populated areas, the manual states.
It also states that reducing the chances of inhaling the virus by wearing a protective mask cleaned thoroughly using a combination of approaches that use heat, ultraviolet light, water, soap and alcohol, will be vital to stopping its spread.
“A double layer of 100 per cent cotton cloth is about 70 per cent as effective as a surgical mask at capturing small particles (up to five times smaller than coronavirus). This material is breathable and it is easy to find around the house. These masks can be easily reused,” the manual states.
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It further suggests that before making the masks, the fabric should be washed well and boiled for 5 minutes. Also, you should look to add salt to water. It states that homemade reusable masks only reduce the chances of inhaling droplets still in the air from an infected person.
“They do not give full protection. Homemade reusable masks must be washed and heated each day, as instructed. Reuse without washing should not be done,” it adds.
The manual is meant to provide a simple outline of best practices to make, use and reuse masks to enable NGOs and individuals to self-create such masks and accelerate widespread adoption of masks across India, a statement said.
The key criteria for proposed designs are: ease of access to materials, ease of making them at home, and ease of use and reuse.
The number of coronavirus cases in India have crossed 1200 mark.
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