Am I protected from Covid-19 by using this type of mask rather than another?
Is my interlocutor as much as me?
With all the goodwill in the world, building up a stock of masks with optimal reliability can seem like a puzzle.
The emergence of variants of the coronavirus puts the subject back at the heart of the debate to the point that the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) delivered new recommendations to the Directorate General of Health (DGS) on Monday.
FFP1, 2 and 3, surgical I, II and IIR, in fabric… There are at least 7 kinds of masks supposed to protect those who wear them, more or less effectively, from Covid-19.
If the majority of French people have put up with the reflex of wearing their mask in the street or in contact with vulnerable people, are there types of masks to ban from their daily lives?
Materials, waterproofing… Each mask has its own level of protection./LP/Infography
Should we leave the fabric masks in the closet?
This is the whole question raised by the latest recommendations of the High Council for Public Health (HCSP).
The full opinion has not been made public, but among the recommendations that have leaked is that of not making homemade masks.
Last spring, individuals, professionals and associations played with their sewing machines to make masks, but the time seems to have come to leave them in the closet.
"Those we have at home have perhaps been washed ten times ... It is more prudent, in view of the recommendations that are emerging, not to use them any longer, even if they followed the recommendations of our standards", explains the Afnor group, which specializes in product standardization and certification.
READ ALSO>
Covid-19: follow our direct
Last spring, in consultation with the State services, Afnor had established two categories of fabric masks, 1 and 2. In stores, category 1 or 2 fabric masks are thus offered for sale, sometimes under the designations "UNS 1" or "UNS 2", for "Non-sanitary use" 1 or 2. It means the same as "category 1" or "2".
These standards aiming to establish a level of protection for so-called “non-sanitary”, “alternative” or “general public” masks still demonstrate their interest.
Category 1 includes masks providing more than 90% protection against 3 micron particles, the famous “droplets” which carry the virus.
Even in fabric, they provide protection validated by the authorities.
Category 2, it provides 70% protection and is, in fact, less recommended.
What the authorities say
Invited by France Inter on Tuesday, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran set out some of these recommendations sent the day before by the High Council of Public Health.
"All masks whose filtering power is greater than 90% remain valid," recalled the Minister.
“Almost all industrial masks for the general public have filtering capacities greater than 90%,” he continued, referring to “category 1” masks.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
There is less tolerance for handcrafted masks.
"The artisanal mask that we make at home with all the best intentions in the world, while respecting Afnor standards, for the High Council of Public Security, does not necessarily offer all the necessary guarantees", summarized Olivier Véran.
Exit the patterns of the masks unearthed on the Net, the fabrics matching his wardrobe… This last category no longer convinces the authorities.
What exactly is the FFP2 mask?
"FFP2 is the duckbill mask," summarizes Jacques Battistoni, president of the MG France general practitioner union.
It is much more filtering, around 97%.
"
However, according to the doctor, it is not necessary to use it constantly.
In a discussion between two people, the individual protection of each takes precedence over the nature of the masks.
"The effectiveness of two surgical masks is important, because the droplets which carry the virus will have more difficulty passing," continues Jacques Battistoni.
A surgical mask well worn by an individual and by his interlocutor is equivalent to an FFP2 mask worn by one of them.
"
The fact remains that the protection provided at least 90% makes it possible to guard more strongly against variants, clearly more contagious, of which specialists fear a growing emergence.
“To prevent droplets, a lot of Category 1 masks, which provide the recommended filtration level, are sold at affordable prices.
Some masks that are washable 50 times are available at 3 euros per unit ”, we remind Afnor.
What doctors say
The FFP2 mask, more filtering, can quickly become less comfortable.
“I don't wear one in consultation,” says Dr. Jacques Battistoni.
Holding on with an FFP2 from 8 am to 8 pm, or going up a staircase by telephoning with an FFP2, is quickly crippling ”.
READ ALSO>
Headaches, dizziness ... Is wearing a mask dangerous for health?
It is therefore difficult to make FFP2 compulsory for the population because “many people will feel suffocated”, predicts the doctor.
The latter recommends reserving the use of FFP2 in specific situations, "if vulnerable people have to do their shopping themselves, for example" or in places where respect for barrier gestures is impossible.
“Personally, I use it in the metro,” explains Jacques Battistoni.
In any case, wearing the mask correctly already helps prevent the spread of droplets.
“Surgical masks that pill is not a good sign… It suggests that they have been reused and that is not their vocation,” recalls Afnor.
It might already be necessary to refocus on these fundamental points, a good washing of the hands, before and after the installation, and a good positioning of the mask.
And when the mask falls, barrier gestures prevail: a distance of 2 m between the interlocutors and greater caution are required.
A hardening of the tone as in Germany?
On Tuesday, Germany tightened its protective measures against the coronavirus and its variants.
Among this new anti-Covid arsenal deployed across the Rhine is the obligation to wear an FFP2 mask or a surgical mask in public transport and shops.
Can we imagine a tightening of regulations on the quality of masks in France?
For now, the vagueness persists and no official indication goes in this direction.
Asked, the Ministry of Health did not answer our questions on this subject.
