Surgical Face Masks Probably Shouldn't be Reused

Many states are requiring residents to wear face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. Some people choose to wear disposable surgical masks that prior to the pandemic were only used by medical professionals. In the healthcare field, these masks were originally designed to be worn once and then discarded. However, with so many disposable masks in use, many are wondering if these masks can somehow be disinfected and reworn. Misbar has discovered that there are mixed opinions, and that advising people to reuse the masks may be misleading. 

According to Today.com, a disposable mask can be reworn, but only if it is cared for properly. This includes not touching the mask, and placing it into a clean container for at least 48 hours to let it naturally disinfect. 

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends throwing medical masks away after using them. Posted as recently as October 2020, the WHO specifical states: “Do not use a mask that has previously been worn or is damaged.”

A study in TheLancet.com found that a small detectable level of infectious virus could still be present on the outer layer of a surgical mask. After seven days, researchers were able to measure about .1 percent of the virus on the sample mask.   

Scientists also wonder whether washing a disposable mask could actually spread the virus. According to Kaiming Ye, head of the biomedical engineering department at New York's Binghamton University in ScienceAlert.com: "Washing the mask at home could potentially cause a secondary contamination and spread the virus if washing is not set appropriately." 

Johns Hopkins Medicine is also in agreement that surgical masks should not be reworn: “Disposable, blue surgical masks cannot be laundered or cleaned and should be thrown away when it is visibly soiled or damaged.”

While some scientists believe reusing a mask is possible if it is handled and stored correctly, most advise against rewearing a surgical mask.