The National Health and Wellness Commission's microblog Health China introduced that used masks carry a large number of microorganisms, such as viruses and oral bacteria, which may pose a significant risk of infection.
Some precautions when removing the mask:
-Don't touch the outer surface of the mask, as you may infect yourself.
-Do not touch the inner surface of the mask as you may infect others.
-Do not touch the masks used by others, as they may be cross-infected.
-Don't put it directly into your bag, pocket, etc., as there may be a risk of ongoing infection.
Some of the wrong ways to deal with it:
_Boiling water
High temperatures are indeed a way of sterilizing the mask, such as boiling, and are simple and easy to do. But using boiling water to scald masks, certainly need to place the mask on the container or countertop, to avoid contamination of the container or countertop; secondly, boiling water to scald, can not meet the sustained high temperature required for disinfection, and time is not enough, may only be able to kill part of the pathogens. Therefore, boiling water is not recommended for treatment.
_Incineration
Similarly, the principle of incineration is high temperature disinfection. However, incineration, on the one hand, will pollute the environment, on the other hand, will cause safety hazards, and on the third hand, there is no such fixed location. Therefore, personal incineration is not recommended.
_Throwing away the mask after cutting it up
While the idea of cutting up the mask in order to prevent it from being recycled by people with ulterior motives is a good one, there is a great risk of infection. Therefore, it is also not recommended to dispose of them by cutting them up.
The right way to deal with used masks:
Human civilization has developed dozens of ways to kill pathogenic microorganisms, such as pressure steam, ultraviolet light, high temperature, medical alcohol, chlorine disinfectant and so on. However, it's not a good idea to choose a simpler, more efficient and safer way to kill microorganisms that is suitable for the general public. In this regard, Health China has made recommendations.
√When in a medical institution
Any masks used in a medical institution should be put directly into a medical waste bag. These masks will be disposed of centrally as medical waste by a professional treatment facility.
√On a regular basis
People suspected of having an infectious disease should hand over used masks to the appropriate staff at the time of their visit to the clinic or at the time of investigation and disposal, and dispose of them as medical waste.
For people with fever, coughing, sputum, sneezing and other symptoms, or those who have been in contact with such people, it is recommended that the masks be disposed of in the trash first, and then 5% of 84 disinfectant solution in a ratio of 1:99 should be used and sprinkled onto the masks for disposal. If disinfectant is not available, you can also use a Ziploc bag or plastic bag to seal the mask and dispose of it in the trash.
For the general public, used masks can be disposed of directly in the trash due to lower risk.
Remember to perform hand hygiene after disposing of the masks.