Ffp2 masks mandatory? The decision of Germany, the debate in Italy
Germany and Austria make Ffp2 masks mandatory. Italy too towards this hypothesis for public transport and closed spaces? Facts and insights
To contain the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany and Austria are trying to draw a new weapon. Better, an old weapon that is now made mandatory: the Ffp2 mask. France and the US are also thinking of a possible obligation.
It's Italy? In our country this hypothesis has not yet been examined, but the option cannot be excluded.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità recommends them for the places most at risk of contagion and Walter Ricciardi, consultant to the Minister of Health, would like them to be mandatory on buses.
Let's go step by step.
WHAT GERMANY AND AUSTRIA HAVE DECIDED
Let's start with who has already decided on these masks. The FFP2 are mandatory in Germany and Austria: they must be used in shops and on board public transport, as reported by the German news agency Dpa .
At the same time, Germany has extended the lockdown until February 14, while Vienna is on its third lockdown, extended until February 7.
THE HYPOTHESIS OF FRANCE AND USA
France is also thinking about making these masks mandatory.
“The only thing we can do is improve the weapons we already have”, according to reports from Il Messaggero , experts from the Pasteur Institute in Lille.
And this hypothesis seems to be advancing also in the United States: Joe Biden, who already uses them, would be reflecting on the mandatory nature of the Ffp2 masks.
THE DEBATE IN ITALY
In Italy, the hypothesis of the mandatory nature of the Ffp2 masks has not yet been taken into consideration, but a possible decision on the matter cannot be ruled out.
“It is evident that the Ffp2 have a greater filtering capacity than surgical or community masks. So it might make sense to make them mandatory on board buses or inside closed rooms, but there is a supply problem as well as a cost problem, ” said Agostino Miozzo, coordinator of the Scientific Technical Committee.
THE COUNCILS OF THE SUPERIOR INSTITUTE OF HEALTH
On the other hand, even the Higher Institute of Health considers these masks the most effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic. The Institute, in updating the document with the indications on the use of personal protective equipment, recommends the use of masks with facial filters (FFP2 and FFP3) on all risky occasions, i.e. in Covid patient rooms and in hospital environments.
THE PRECISATION OF THE SAN RAFFAELE HOSPITAL IN MILAN
Advice from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, which are based precisely on the filtering capacity of the mask. "The Ffp2 type mask has a high filtering power at the exit and towards the wearer (over 90%), unlike the surgical masks which reach a maximum of 20% at the entrance", explains the San Hospital on its website Raffaele.
And for this reason these masks "are strictly recommended for healthcare professionals (who often also use the Ffp3, even more protective) and, in general, for anyone who is in a high-risk situation, which can be represented, for example, by closed spaces with little air exchange and crowded ".
RICCIARDI: FFP2 IN ALL CLOSED PLACES
Closed spaces like buses and more.
“In closed spaces and with a reduced safety distance, the effectively protective masks are the Ffp2. By metro, buses and public transport are the best choice ”, Walter Ricciardi, professor of Hygiene at the Catholic University of Rome and consultant to the Minister of Health, told Adnkronos Health.
“The masks as a garrison must always be worn according to the objectives that are proposed. If I am alone on the street, at a distance from others, the cloth mask is fine too. But if I enter an enclosed space and lower the safety distance, to be protected I need a mask type Ffp2. The scientific evidence tells us this: in a closed environment there is a need for filter masks. And the filtering ones are the Fp2 ”, explains Ricciardi.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/mascherine-ffp2-obbligatorie-la-decisione-della-germania-il-dibattito-in-italia/ on Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:47:17 +0000.