Which Face Masks Are Best During the Coronavirus Covid 19 Pandemic?

IIR II Face Masks or N95 KN95 FFP3 FFP2 Respirators?

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Should I buy a Face Mask or a Respirator?

Even though a respirator may be referred to as a mask - they are not the same thing.

How and what are Face Masks used for?

• Face masks are loose fitting and cover the mouth and nose (such as the iir fluid resistant surgical masks FRSM pictured below)
• For an example, they would be worn in theatre during medical surgery to stop sneezing and coughing directly onto the patient and are sometimes referred to as splash resistant, water resistant or fluid repellent or antiviral face masks .
• Face masks are regulated under the UK Medical Devices Directives 93/42 EEC and are recognised as being dual purpose: protecting both the healthcare provider and the patient. All face masks should be CE marked as medical devices in accordance with the Medical Devices Directive 93/42 EEC.
• The surgical face masks have two standards. The lower specification regular one is referred to as "ii" (not fluid/splash resistant) and the higher specification fluid resistant face mask is referred to as iir/IIR.
• The type IIR standard EN14683 requires fluid resistance of 120 mm/Hg (mercury) which means it provides greater protection and at least 95% filtration efficiency and is referred to on UK Government website regarding PPE and infection provention from Covid 19.  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe#section-10point1 

  "Fluid resistant surgical masks
  Fluid-resistant (Type IIR) surgical masks (FRSM) provide barrier protection against respiratory droplets reaching the mucosa of the mouth and nose. FRSMs should be well fitted and subject to the same level of care in use as respirators (section 10.1). FRSMs are for single use or single session use (section 6) and then must be discarded. The FRSM should be discarded and replaced and NOT be subject to continued use in any of the circumstances outlined for respirators (section 10.1).

  The protective effect of masks against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and other respiratory viral infections has been well established. There is no evidence that respirators add value over FRSMs for droplet protection when both are used with recommended wider PPE measures in clinical care, except in the context of AGPs."

  It goes on to say that surgical masks should:

  • cover both nose and mouth
  • not be allowed to dangle around the neck after or between each use
  • not be touched once put on
  • be changed when they become moist or damaged
  • be worn once and then discarded – hand hygiene must be performed after disposal

How and what are Respirators used for?

• Respirators are a masks but they are tight fitting, designed to create a seal when worn on the face.
• They are designed to protect the wearer, up to the safety rating when worn properly.
• They are available in either disposable (with a valve or non-valved), half or full face.
• Non valved respirators give good protection - a two way protection by filtering both the inflow and outflow from the wearer.
• Valved respirators make it easier to breathe and there is less moisture build up inside but..
• Valved respirators give one way protection only as they filter the wearers outflow/breath but they dont filter the inflow

Standards of Respirator

Respirators are designed to protect the wearer as detailed above.

The most well known respirator is the N95, which is an American standard of face mask.

Europe uses two different standards FFP and EN. The Filterering Face Piece  (FFP) comes from EN standard 149:2001.

Then the EN 143 standard covers P1 - P2 - P3.

The table above shows that the closest European equivilent to N95 is FFP2/P2 rated respirators , which are rated at 94%, compared to 95% of the N95 respirator.

The closest rating to the N100 would be the P3 respirators with the FFP3 following on from that.

It is also important to note that these standards only specify the MINIMUM % particles that the respirator filters . So for instance if a mask is N95 rated, it will filter out AT LEAST 95% of particles that are 0.3 microns diameter or bigger.

The Chinese standard KN95 has the same specification as the American N95 respirators.

Always buy from a reputable seller.

How big is the Coronavirus Covid 19 particle size and can masks or respirators protect you?

The particle size of coronavirus is around 0.1 microns - (which is bigger than the filter size of 0.3 microns)

The UK Government recently published guidance of Covid 19 and Personal Protective Equipment PPE which can be found here 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe

FFP3 and N100 respirator masks which filter out between 99.95% and 99.97 of particles bigger than 0.3 microns ,are understandably, in very short supply to the general public. However the UK Government has stated in this document:-