Hugo de Jonge, Minister of Health, highlighted the scarcity yesterday. “We need to distribute the stock of mouth masks we have as well as possible,” he said at a news conference. “We want people in healthcare to use them.”
Obligated
There is also a lack of face masks abroad. There the focus is also on arranging enough masks for the people who need them, the care providers. But if you go shopping in Belgium or Germany, you are advised to put on a mask.
In the Netherlands, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) recommends the use of mouth masks only for medical personnel in the Netherlands. Minister De Jonge even called it undesirable for people to wear mouth masks outside the door.
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But can people help make face masks to combat the scarcity? Please, said the Belgian Prime Minister, Sophie Wilmès, yesterday. She recommends making fabric masks for her own use in places where it is not possible to keep a meter and a half away.
Needle and thread
So our southern neighbors get to work at home to make their own face masks. The Federal Public Service for Health published a manual for this.
Many sewing patterns are shared online. Face masks are made from, for example, dishcloths, T-shirts and pillowcases. There is room for a filter in different cartridges for mouth masks. Such a filter is always useful, but for example a vacuum cleaner filter makes it more difficult to breathe through a homemade mouth mask.
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It is therefore possible to make mouth masks yourself, but they are not suitable for use in healthcare. That is because the mouth masks have not been officially inspected. RIVM emphasizes that mouth masks only work if they are used correctly. They should close very well over the nose and mouth and should be changed regularly, at least twice a day.
Tested
Official and approved mouth masks protect the wearer from viruses from the outside and a homemade mask does not necessarily do that. The American Long Association states that homemade mouth masks do not protect the wearer, but they could prevent the wearer from infecting others and thus not spreading the virus further.
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Cambridge University tested which materials hold back a 0.2 micron virus particle. Such a particle is five times smaller than the coronavirus. With the exception of a scarf, each fabric tested retained at least 50 percent of the virus particles.
Test results
| Surgical mask | 89 percent |
| Vacuum cleaner filter | 86 percent |
| Dishcloth | 73 percent |
| Cotton blend shirt | 70 percent |
| Antimicrobial pillowcase | 68 percent |
| Linen | 62 percent |
| Pillowcase | 57 percent |
| Silk | 54 percent |
| 100 percent cotton shirt | 51 percent |
| Scarf | 49 percent |
The study’s conclusion shows that a protective mask reduces the risk of contamination, but does not eliminate it. That goes for any material, homemade or not.
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