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. 2020 Apr 26;105(3):414-418.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.04.036. Online ahead of print.

What face mask for what use in the context of COVID-19 pandemic? The French guidelines

Didier Lepelletier  1 , Bruno Grandbastien  2 , Sara Romano-Bertrand  3 , Serge Aho  4 , Christian Chidiac  5 , Jean-François Géhanno  6 , Franck Chauvin  7 ; French Society for Hospital Hygiene and the High Council for Public Health
Affiliations

What face mask for what use in the context of COVID-19 pandemic? The French guidelines

Didier Lepelletier et al. J Hosp Infect. .

Abstract

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a face mask has become usual and ubiquitous, in both hospitals and community. However, the general public is consuming surgical or filtering face piece (FFP) masks irrespective of their specificity, leading to global supply shortage for the most exposed persons, which are healthcare workers. This underlines the urgent need to clarify the indications of the different categories of mask, in order to rationalize their use. The study herein specifies the French position for the rational use of respiratory protective equipment for healthcare workers.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; N95 mask; filtering face piece (FFP) mask; respiratory protective equipment; surgical mask.

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