UPDATED: Plan to reuse medical masks concerns nurses union

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This article was published 04/04/2020 (2320 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Nurses Union expressed concerns Saturday about a provincial plan to reuse sterilized N95 masks.

“Given that the research guiding the reuse of sterilized N95 masks is only preliminary, MNU has serious concerns that sterilized masks may not afford sufficient protection to nurses and other health-care providers,” a spokesperson told the Brandon Sun in an email.

“The implementation of this unproven measure again raises serious questions about current stockpiles of personal protective equipment available in Manitoba. We continue to call on government to implement enhanced PPE measures and to be transparent in providing detailed information on current supply levels.”

Shared Health’s chief nursing officer, Lanette Siragusa, said during Saturday’s daily news conference that used N95 masks would be collected and then put through a sterilization process, making them safe to reuse up to 10 times.

“We are looking at that option,” she said, adding the masks would only be distributed to health-care workers once they are deemed safe to use.

A team of five Manitoba researchers released a study Wednesday that tested decontamination of four types of masks, finding some success, the CBC reported Thursday.

Led by Dr. Anand Kumar, a professor of medicine at the University of Manitoba, the study said preliminary results suggest some masks could be successfully decontaminated and reused up to 10 times using common sterilization techniques.

Kumar told CBC the testing was done using only the four kinds of masks inside a lab using surface contact with the viruses. The methods haven’t been tested with masks that have actually been worn by health-care workers in the field.

“Although we tested the functional integrity of decontaminated masks via quantitative fit testing, our testing cannot take into account the respirator’s ability to withstand the rough handling that extended wear by health-care workers, with stress and perspiration, can inflict,” the study states.

“We’re going to continue that study and make sure that those (masks) are safe for our staff,” Siragusa said, adding gently used N95 masks will soon be collected from all clinical areas and any that are soiled, wet, damp or stained will be discarded.

Responding to a question regarding the future availability of N95 masks produced by 3M in the United States, Siragusa said the province is talking with vendors globally to maintain the needed supply.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered 3M to not export masks to Canada and other countries.

Meanwhile, the province’s first alternative isolation site has been established at a Winnipeg hotel. Siragusa said plans are in place to establish a site in Brandon, as well.

“We have to do a little bit of a trial here with this first site, and then we will be looking to expand there, as well,” she said.

These sites are for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but cannot self-isolate at home for one reason or another.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, reminded people that social distancing should continue as the Easter holiday approaches.

“Many planned holidays coming up and it’s the norm for many Manitobans to get together, sometimes in large family gatherings,” he said. “Now, unfortunately, is not the time for that. The time remains to be staying at home.”

Health officials reported Saturday that 14 of the 194 Manitobans who have so far tested positive for COVID-19 work in health care. None of the health-care workers who tested positive is in Prairie Mountain Health.

Some of those 14 cases — 12 in Winnipeg and two in the Interlake/Eastern region — are travel-related.

Health officials reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. There are now 12 confirmed and probable cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region.

As of Saturday morning, 10 people remained in hospital with six in intensive care.

Health officials will now be reporting statistics on such things as Health Links calls and hits on the self-assessment tool once a week rather than daily.

» brobertson@brandonsun.com

» The Brandon Sun