Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 19 May 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Ventilation and Covid-19: Discussion

Ms Orla Hegarty:

The surgical masks people are wearing are effectively designed for protection from droplets in hospitals. For protection from aerosol particles, that is, the very fine, lighter particles, which is what we are talking about, N95 or higher protection masks are recommended. Some countries have moved to those, and the examples of that are in Asia, specifically Taiwan. The masks are being provided by the Taiwanese Government.