5 ms·
Wouldn't just leaving the mask alone for say 72 hours decontaminate it? Viruses can't survive for that long, so should be safe to reuse the mask after 72 hours?
by petilon 7y ago
Wouldn't just leaving the mask alone for say 72 hours decontaminate it? Viruses can't survive for that long, so should be safe to reuse the mask after 72 hours?
- Scoundreller 7y agoIt would, but then you need multiple masks per person if each person uses theirs for 1 day. And even that can be a stretch: once they become moist, they're useless.
- fspeech 7y agoHow moist? They will contain moisture from any use.
- Scoundreller 7y agoTrue, and they're not cracker dry to start. But if the pores get clogged with water (just like breathing on a cold window), you're hosed.
- smacktoward 7y agoThe oven method only takes 30 minutes. So masks could be sanitized and turned around for reuse much more frequently than leaving the mask “out of commission” for several days would allow. The report also found acceptable (if a bit lower) sterilization from applying steam from boiling water for just 10 minutes, which would improve turnaround rates even further.
- swsieber 7y agoIIRC, there were still traces of the virus on the diamond princess 15 days after it was cleared out. So it might be able to last longer.
- Scoundreller 7y agoIt's a half-life thing. If your equipment is sufficiently sensitive, you could find remaining virus for a long time. Especially if the conditions are right.
- thedudeabides5 7y agoRight. People like to think of things like 'sick' and 'healthy' but maybe it's more subtle than that. Things aren't 'clean' or 'dirty' w COVID, but somewhere on a long spectrum.
- Scoundreller 7y agoYup, it's continuous, not discrete. My running joke with the "up to 3 days" figures people keep sharing is that you could get infected "up to 3 miles away" by someone sneezing if the winds/temperatures are just right and you're EXTREMELY unlucky.
- WalterBright 7y agoThere's also a distinct probability that your pencil will suddenly levitate an inch then drop back. I'm not kidding.
- Scoundreller 7y agoNext you’ll try to convince me that the moon can pull stuff from the earth towards it.
- saagarjha 7y ago
- fspeech 7y agoWhat about other germs, esp from the doctors' own breath? Doctors in OR need sterile masks and hopefully they don't reuse in that setting. But outpatient clinics and testing sites, sure reuse is better than shutting them down due to shortage of respirators.
- elihu 7y agoNo, SARS-CoV-2 is thought to have a half-life of about 72 hours on some surfaces but some virus particles can survive much longer. (edit: that's not right, the half life is shorter with the virus still infectious on a surface for 72 hours or so) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNQUHc8wbRc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNQUHc8wbRc
- maxerickson 7y agoThat video gives half lives of 5.6 hours for stainless steel and 6.8 hours for plastic, not 72 hours. 72 hours is the time it gives for the virus still being detectable/viable on those surfaces, which is different than the half life.
- elihu 7y agoYou're right, I misremembered the video. Still, 72 hours as the time when the last virus particle probably dies still seems a bit risky.
- 6nf 7y agoCoronavirus survived for over a week on that empty cruise ship.
- tartoran 7y agoI was thinking the same. Or keeping it in very dry environment that desicate the virus?
- TillE 7y agoThis is basically what I'm doing with a box of FFP3 masks I bought years ago and partly used. I only need to go out once or twice a week at most, so I can rotate through them and give each mask a good ~14 day rest.