the High Council of Public Health recommends the use of better quality masks

Faced with the spread of new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus, will the French have to change their masks? In an opinion sent on Sunday to the Directorate General of Health (DGS), the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) now recommends the use of surgical models or category 1 tissue according to the Afnor standard, in an opinion that no ‘has not yet been published, two of its members told franceinfo on Monday, January 18, confirming information of The voice of the North. Category 2 masks and those made by hand are no longer recommended.

“We do not deny the use of masks which has been made up to now”, assures franceinfo Daniel Camus, member of the HCSP working group on masks. The change in recommendations can only be explained by the appearance of more contagious variants. “Since we don’t have any new weapons against them, the only thing we can do is improve the ones we already have.”, starting with the masks we wear.

A situation that requires, in the eyes of the HCSP, to abandon homemade masks, “which are not tested in terms of performance”, explains to franceinfo Didier Lepelletier, co-chair of the standing Covid-19 working group of the body. The same applies to industrial fabric masks which comply with the Afnor category 2 (or UNS2) standard: this guarantees that they filter at least 70% of three-micron particles, against 90% for category 1 masks (or UNS1).

“Manufacturers no longer manufacture many category 2 masks anyway”, assures Didier Lepelletier. However, you may still have some in your closet. To recognize them, know that the type of certification should be indicated on their label. It is therefore not all fabric masks that are not recommended. Category 1 are “at least as efficient” than surgical masks, “see more”, indicates Didier Lepelletier. They also have the advantage of being reusable. However, surgical masks are also recommended.

However, the HCSP does not advocate the use by the general public of FFP2 masks. “In the general population, this does not seem reasonable to me”, explains Didier Lepelletier, because “we would wear it badly” and he is “demonstrated” that a complete seal is necessary so that the FFP2 does not lose its effectiveness. “We should already ask manufacturers to provide them in several different sizes to caregivers”, who themselves sometimes have problems with these models.

In his most recent opinion on masks, which dates from October 29, the HCSP already recommended “preferably” to use Category 1 masks, but felt that Category 2 masks “[pouvaient] be used “, and that wearing a handmade mask had the merit of being “more protective than the absence of a mask”.

The HCSP was seized on Sunday by the DGS, which depends on the Ministry of Health. It has not yet reacted to these new recommendations, Monday afternoon. He is not obliged to pass them on, although the advice of the HCSP is often followed. Can the wearing of insufficiently protective masks be prohibited or even punished? It is not up to the HCSP to decide on the means to apply its advice, explains Didier Lepelletier: “We write scientific opinions. ‘Mandatory’ is a political word. I let the political power decide.”

“The rules must already be applied and controlled, he adds. Masks worn under the nose are no longer acceptable. “ If it is the wearing of a mask that is concerned by this new opinion, the other measures – gauge in enclosed public places, cleaning of surfaces, regular ventilation, hand washing, barrier gestures and distancing – remain decisive. “To think that we are going to modify only one of these measures and that it will stop the virus, is to put the finger in the eye”, he warns.

In its opinion, the HCSP also recalls that it now recommends respecting a distance of two meters between people to limit the risk of transmission of the virus.

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