How to avoid a new outbreak of the coronavirus, fueled by the contagiousness of the English variant?
To resolve this equation, the Directorate General of Health ordered a report on several themes from the High Council for Public Health (HCSP) on Friday.
The working group submitted its recommendations on Monday, after working all weekend.
Rather than a change in doctrine, this committee of doctors and experts insists, according to our information, on a better application of the control measures already in force, with in particular recommendations to avoid colander masks.
The Ministry of Health particularly wanted to obtain new data on the masks facing the English and South African variants.
In Austria and Bavaria, the FFP2 (duckbill-shaped) will become mandatory in public transport and shops.
A choice linked to the specific characteristics of these protections, detailed by François Gaie-Levrel engineer, researcher responsible for aerosols activity at the National Metrology and Testing Laboratory (LNE).
“Barrier and surgical masks protect the environment from projections of large droplets,” he explains.
The FFP2, if worn properly, protects the wearer.
In our laboratory, we test the effectiveness of the mask itself, but its use will depend on the person.
A bearded person who wears an FFP2 cannot, for example, have a zero leak rate and will not have a perfect seal.
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These are the reasons which push the HCSP to oppose the generalization of this type of barrier.
"There are real constraints in terms of port," confirms Didier Lepelletier, the co-chair of the permanent Covid-19 group of this body.
Often, manufacturers only supply one size of FFP2 masks.
On the try-on tests, we realize that 30% of caregivers wear it badly.
In the general population, people will wear it badly and feel protected, wrongly.
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"Low breathability"
Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF), comes to the same conclusion: “If two people in contact wear a surgical mask, the protection is the same.
FFP2 offers low breathability and needs to be changed often.
I recommend wearing the double mask: one for each person in contact.
"The pharmacist also specifies that the duckbills" are available for sale but are much more expensive than a surgical mask, nearly 1 euro against 10 cents ".
On the other hand, the report submitted by the HCSP recommends a fairly clear turn in terms of masks for the general public.
A classification was established in the spring for these protections "for non-sanitary use (UNS)".
Category 2 had to filter more than 70% of particles and category 1 more than 90%.
Homemade nose covers obviously do not have any certification and depend on their quality of manufacture, the fabric used, etc.
Faced with a more contagious virus, the most filtering category is now the only one recommended, as Professor Lepelletier explains: “Initially, the first category was intended for people in contact with the public.
In October, it was already recommended to keep the two categories, while recommending instead category 1. Gradually, manufacturers have come up with fabric masks that filter 98% of particles.
Today, faced with more transmissible variants, we have to move towards category 1 masks. They also have the advantage of being more aesthetic and reusable.
They are not found on the floor, unlike surgical masks.
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"People don't pay enough attention anymore"
While they are both judged to be efficient against droplets, the two devices remain difficult to measure.
“The standards are different,” says François Gaie-Levrel of LNE.
On non-sanitary masks, we test the filtration of particles around 3 microns, while on surgical masks, we study bacterial filtration.
Research is currently being carried out to define an equivalence between particulate filtration and bacterial filtration.
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As in its previous reports, the High Council of Public Health reiterates its recommendations in terms of distancing (2 meters) and ventilation, in particular.
"We are currently talking about FFP2, but we repeat that people are no longer paying enough attention," explains Didier Lepelletier.
For example, caregivers must stop removing their masks in the break room, smokers must keep a distance of 2 meters, supermarkets should not be crowded ... There were Christmas celebrations with everyone gathered, there it's much colder, we release the barriers.
If the French do not adhere to all the measures taken, we risk going as far as confinement.
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