I don't think this is necessarily contradictory. Masks need to be worn correctly and not be reused. There's a good chance that a lot of people are wearing them incorrectly, and most people aren't going to have a sufficient supply on hand to avoid reuse. As such, they might give some people a false sense of security.
It at least seems plausible that for the average person masks won't do much good and that it's much more important for health care and public safety workers to have access to them.
Since my N95 respirator supply is limited, I have been removing it in the car and spritzing it with 91% alcohol inside and out until moist. It is usually dry in minutes, and should be sterile for the next use.
That study is great, but why no UV-C tests? I’ve been using a UV-C decontamination box I made cheaply. It seems safe and effective for a couple of rounds of decontamination.
Was just studying on Far-UVC (222nm) as being much safer than C, yet more effective (literally second(s)) to kill virus..I suspect we will see vast deployments of this light coming to public spaces near you.
Interesting, hadn't considered that one...how long and are the 'rubbers' holding up? Also cheers on that article...I've been finding it confounding that both masks and disposable gloves are NOT being preached in all media, if one must go into confining public spaces.
The "rubber" seems to hold up fine. It's in a convection oven, I bring it to temperature, with a dish of water in it, and then bake it for 10 minutes. I have no idea if it's clean or not, of course.
See: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/opinion/coronavirus-face-...