3 ms·
If you have a large supply of ASTM Level 1-3 masks, and are young and healthy, this is what you should do: donate them to a local critical care medical facility
by angry_octet 7y ago
If you have a large supply of ASTM Level 1-3 masks, and are young and healthy, this is what you should do: donate them to a local critical care medical facility. Not only do they need them more than you, you need them to stay healthy so they can treat the public (including you).
The ASTM Lvl 1-3 surgical masks use non-woven fiber (e.g. spun polypropylene) the same as N95s. So every new mask is one less N95. This is actually a zero sum game. If you are ordering these masks you are reducing the amount of material available for N95s.
Finally, the caveat that the proposed technique is untested is huge. Lots of things that you might think work don't, or have negative effects. These people should partner with a local virology group to do some testing before they scale up, and before they push this idea out into the void.