The Covid-19 pandemic is far from over and cloth masks are now strongly discouraged. In addition, there is no longer a shortage of surgical masks and FFP2 today. Currently and for the future, it seems important to know the level of protection of the different masks against viruses.
At the end of January 2021, the High Council for Public Health advised against the use of category 2 (UNS2) or homemade fabric masks. These would be too permeable to the English variant of Covid-19. While several mask innovations are under development, the choice in commerce remains the same, between surgical masks and FFP2 masks. Note, however, that there is no longer a shortage of this type of product, and has been for quite a while.
Surgical masks (IIR) are the most common protective masks, offering bacterial filtration efficiency EFB> 98% as well as splash resistance (common to all masks). As for FFP2, it is a matter of an EFP particulate filtration efficiency> 94%.
Other more advanced protective masks (Cidaltex®) have antiviral and antibacterial activity demonstrated by in vitro laboratory tests. It is about 99.96% antiviral efficacy, 99.99% antibacterial, and 98% EFB bacterial filtration. Antiviral efficacy was measured at 20 minutes on Human coronavirus 229E (colds) and antibacterial efficacy over a similar duration for Escherichia coli bacteria andStaphylococcus aureus. In addition, these different masks have received certification (EN-149 or EN-14683).
Since the Covid-19 epidemic is still relevant and the future will undoubtedly be again punctuated by health episodes of the same kind, you might as well get used to making wise choices in terms of protective masks. In the more or less near future, there could be more choices. Various innovations that cannot yet be found on the market concern, for example, smart masks connected to the wearer's smartphone (see below).
Nevertheless, the huge challenge for the future regarding masks will be to combine effective protection with respect for the environment. The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed shown how worrying these single-use masks can be in terms of ecology. A few weeks ago, we showed a rather alarming infographic. Remember, however, that humanity uses and throws away 129 billion surgical masks per month, or three million per minute. The UN estimates that 75% of masks could end up in nature, where they would take more than four hundred years to degrade while diffusing microparticles polluting water and air.
Faced with this observation, some companies are mobilizing. Hateia in Marseille has developed a biodegradable and compostable surgical mask , the first of its kind approved in France. Before that, the Swiss company HMCARE had developed a protective mask combining transparency and biodegradability. At the start of the epidemic, the French tire flagship Michelin marketed a protective mask that could be reused a hundred times.
