Coronavirus: masks sold in Switzerland fail basic tests

by
Investec
My articles My booksMy videos
Follow on:Twitter

Surgical masks © Belish | Dreamstime.com

Only 4 out of the 16 masks sold in Switzerland that were tested passed all three tests conducted by a textile testing company, according to RTS.

The testing, which included tests for air permeability, splash resistance and filtration, was conducted in laboratories run by Testex in Zurich and Vienna at the behest of RTS. Testing followed the standards recommended by the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Taskforce.

There are broadly two kinds of masks used in hospital settings. Surgical masks, which mainly protect those around the wearer, and respirators, which also protect the wearer. These two categories of masks must meet different standards. The photo above shows surgical masks.

The masks worn by the public mainly fall into the surgical mask category or a third category: fabric masks, which are not used by medical staff. Surgical and fabric masks do more to protect those who come into contact with the wearer than to protect the wearer.

Respirators, which are generally more expensive than surgical masks and more uncomfortable to wear, look like the masks in the photo below. To work fully they need to be properly fitted. One way to test fit is to spray perfume and see it can be smelt. These are what medical staff wear when working with Covid-19 patients. Click here for more information on respirators and different types of masks.

The testing commissioned by RTS didn’t test respirators. It was focused on testing surgical and fabric masks, the types aimed at the public and at stopping the wearer infecting others.

Textex tested 8 fabric masks and 8 disposable surgical masks on sale via large retailers in Switzerland. All 8 of the fabric masks and half of the surgical masks failed at least one test. The 4 that were manufactured in Switzerland all failed as did 1 made in Europe, 6 made in China and 1 of unknown provenance. All of the 4 that passed every test were made in China.

The brands that passed all tests were the Disposable Face Mask (Lidl), PM-Plus Medical (Coop), Medi-Inn (Migros) and JINGEAO (Sunstore). There was no correlation between effectiveness and price. The first of these 3 cost 32 cents a piece and the fourth 80 cents. All were made in China.

The most expensive masks generally performed the worst. The brands Swiss Mask (CHF 10), sold by swissmask.org, Face Mask (CHF 6.95), sold at Müller, NEXERA CARE (CHF 5.98), sold at Sunstore, and MASK-UP (CHF 29.90), sold at Manor were some of the most expensive. All of these masks failed the splash and filtration tests. All the tests showed was that it is possible to breath through these masks.

Based on these test results, a cheap Chinese mask has a greater chance of working than an expensive Swiss one. For a full list of test results on all 16 of the masks click here.

These tests reveal the fallibility and confusion around certification declarations. All surgical masks were marked with some form of certification but most failed to meet the displayed standard when tested. The need for stricter testing is clear.

Fabric masks all performed poorly in the tests. Part of the problem is there are no clear standards for non-medical masks. Meaningful standards for fabric masks are clearly needed.

You Might Also Like

Coronavirus: new cases in Switzerland reach highest level since April

Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) announced 274 new recorded cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 24 hours. The last time Switzerland had a daily case number above this was on 19 April 2020 when 336 new cases were recorded.

Coronavirus: no quarantine for people entering Switzerland from border regions

On 11 September 2020, Switzerland’s federal government announced that people entering Switzerland after spending time in regions next to the country’s national borders will be exempted from mandatory quarantine requirements should those regions end up with high rates of infection. Cross-border worker are already exempted from quarantine requirements.

Chlorothalonil in Zurich’s groundwater above the limit in 60 percent of samples

The banned substance chlorothalonil, which is in some pesticides, has been found to be above the limit in 60% of ground water samples taken across the canton of Zurich over the last 12 months, reported SRF.

Switzerland to ramp up seasonal flu vaccinations to cut Covid-19 co-infection risk

As winter approaches the federal and cantonal governments of Switzerland are hoping a larger number of people than normal will get the seasonal flu jab as the spread of Covid-19 continues, according to RTS.

Switzerland adds 18 more regions to its quarantine list

Today, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) added 18 regions to its compulsory quarantine list. Anyone arriving in Switzerland from these place from 28 September 2020 will be required by law to quarantine for 10 days.

Women 62 percent of doctors under 40 in Switzerland

At the end of 2018, there were 23,000 doctors in Switzerland, according to a recently published study. Overall, 41% of these doctors were women. Among doctors aged 60-64, the percentage was 28%. However, 62% of doctors under 40 were women, a figure which partly reflects the higher numbers of women graduating from Swiss universities.

Coronavirus: over 1,000 new cases in a day in Switzerland

On 7 October 2020, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 1,077 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 24 hours.

Coronavirus: more than 4,000 new cases over 3 days in Switzerland

On 12 October 2020, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 4,068 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over 72 hours. The latest 3-day infection figure is 2.6 times the number over the same period a week ago.