Minimalist Mitigation on Medical Personnel

KOMPAS/IRENE SARWINDANINGRUM

Midwife Gita Melinda at the PKBI Teratai Clinic in Bandung, West Java, Monday (8/3/2021), wearing a hazmat suit but not wearing an N95 mask or the like and choosing to only wear a regular medical mask when carrying out antigen swab tests on residents.

The availability of standardized masks for health workers must be guaranteed amid the discovery of a number of fake and low-quality medical masks. Proper masks will also be used by the community to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Currently, there are generally three types of masks available in the market, namely cloth masks, surgical masks and respirator masks. Masks that are suitable for health workers are three-layer surgical masks and respirator masks.

Fake masks certainly threaten the safety of health workers, especially in areas with community-scale local transmission.

Unfortunately, many masks are found without a clear (fake) product standardization. The circulation of fake masks extends to medical personnel. A Kompas survey conducted online on health workers on March 13-23, 2021 found that 31.2 percent of respondents claimed to have found masks that were not made according to health standards and their purposes. Fake masks certainly threaten the safety of health workers, especially in areas with community-scale local transmission.

Also read: Dangerous, Fake Medical Masks Found in the Market

The risk of health workers wearing fake masks is increasing because many of them buy from online sites (52.6 percent). Purchasing through online sites is quite worrying because not all online stores guarantee the authenticity and hygiene of the products. Moreover, the findings of the Kompas investigation revealed that many fake masks were sold through online shops.

Eligibility standard

In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized that health workers must consistently use standard masks while on duty. Masks need to be replaced regularly if health workers are in locations with high risk of infection, such as triage, emergency departments or special Covid-19 units.

Especially when in the procedure room and surgery for patients with suspected, probable and confirmed Covid-19, medical personnel must use respirator masks, such as N95, FFP2 and KN95.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

The community health center (Puskesmas) in Cilincing subdistrict, North Jakarta conducts a COVID-19 vaccination simulation on Tuesday (12/1/2021). The simulation includes registration, screening or health examinations, vaccination and post-vaccination observation. The observation lasts 30 minutes to see if there are any side effects after a person receives the vaccine. The government plans to begin the Covid-19 vaccination program on 13 Jan, 2021. President Joko Widodo will be the first person to be injected with the Covid-19 vaccine.

Respirator masks are able to protect the wearers from aerosol particles in the air and prevent large/small droplets from coughing/sneezing. This is because the filtration effectiveness is more than 95-99 percent for the 0.1 micron size, while the surgical mask is less than 95 percent. For the record, the size of the coronavirus ranges from 0.1 microns to 0.5 microns.

Even though there are quite a number of masks that do not meet production standards and distribution permits, the majority (87.7 percent) of medical personnel respondents believed in the authenticity of the masks they used. Among efforts of medical personnel to keep their distance from fake masks is to pay close attention to the physical appearance of masks.

Also read: Careful in Choosing Cloth Face Masks

As many as 36.6 percent of health workers assessed the quality of masks through the physical condition of the packaging and masks. The rest, look at the thickness of the masks, based on certain brands, the quality of the mask straps, and the presence of nose plugs.

Nearly half of health workers said that the presence of a filter layer is a standard for quality masks that are safe to use.

Specifically, the condition of the masks that is of concern to medical personnel is the presence of a filter layer. Nearly half of health workers said that the presence of a filter layer is a standard for quality masks that are safe to use.

In the context of mitigating the quality of masks, prevention efforts by medical personnel are minimal and quite risky. This is because to assess the quality of a mask is not limited to physical appearance or based on certain brands, but must pass clinical trials, such as bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) and differential pressure.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A medical worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine to an elderly person at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, on Tuesday (23/2/2021). Each day, the health center administers 20-50 doses of vaccines for elderly people. Health Ministry Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the current second phase of the vaccination drive was for public service workers and elderly people. In the case of the elderly, the first and second shot of the vaccine are given with a 28-day interval. For people aged 18-59, the vaccines are given with a 14-day interval. According to Health Ministry data, an additional 16,297 people received their first vaccine shots on Monday, bringing the total to 1,244,215 people. With the limited global supply of vaccines, the government prioritizes the vaccination of high-risk people to lower the mortality rate.

Based on the document for the Standard Personal Protective Equipment for Mitigating Covid-19 in Indonesia, there are at least six aspects to assess the authenticity of masks. First, protection against airborne particles, such as dust and bioaerosol. Second, recommendations from product safety regulatory agencies. Third, the filtering efficiency of 95 percent of solid and liquid aerosols that do not contain oil.

Next, the mask\'s resistance to liquids and materials is not made of natural rubber latex. Finally, it is equipped with a face lock that supports the wearers to avoid aerosol exposure. Overall, to ensure quality, every mask sold must have a distribution license.

Also read : Behind the Hand Sanitizer and Face Mask Price Hike During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Information on the quality of masks that have been scientifically tested and according to SNI justifies what type of masks should be used, including knowing the authenticity of masks. However, the results of the mask quality test are rarely known by medical personnel. (KOMPAS R&D)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).