Coronavirus: long-term protection using masks ‘dubious’

Air quality experts say face masks are unlikely to protect people from the effects of bushfire smoke when they are worn over a long period, an inquiry has heard.

Barber Luis Lopez wears a face mask while cutting Alexander Chin’s hair in Orange County Barbers Parlor in Huntington Beach, California. Picture: AP

Air quality experts say face masks are unlikely to protect people from the effects of bushfire smoke when they are worn over a long period, an inquiry has heard.

Centre for Air Pollution, ­Energy and Health Research chief investigator Guy Marks says P2 face masks need to be tight-­fitting and replaced often ­because they lose their effectiveness once moist.

“The likelihood that you can protect yourself from fine particles by a well-applied face mask for a long period of time is not that likely,” he told the NSW parliamentary inquiry into air quality on Friday. “People are more likely to be protected by staying in an indoor environment.”

He said the effectiveness of face masks was still being investigated by the centre.

He said the role of masks in 2020 has been “very interesting”, first during the bushfires and then the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In this latter crisis, the role of them is not only in protecting the individual from inhaling things but more importantly, preventing them from expelling things into the environment,” he said. “But with the bushfire smoke, that was irrelevant and it’s only about protecting the wearer from what’s in the environment, and the effectiveness of them for that over a long period of time is dubious.”

NSW Health acting executive director Dr Richard Broome said the state distributed about 900,000 P2 masks during the crisis but agreed there was limited research about their effectiveness. The inquiry continues.

AAP