Half of face masks in care homes fail to meet coronavirus safety standards
Dutch NewsAround half the face masks being used in care homes to protect staff and residents from coronavirus are substandard, according to a survey by AD.nl. The public health agency RIVM has advised care home staff to wear blue surgical masks, but many institutions have bought extra FFP2 masks because they feel the surgical masks do not offer enough protection from the virus. Michel van Erp, of NU ’91, which represents care home staff, said: ‘Staff work intensively with corona patients, day in, day out. ‘It’s scandalous that people can be treated like this when it concerns people’s safety.’ The RIVM has recently extended Covid-19 testing to all care sector workers who suspect they have symptoms, not just those working in hospitals, and relaxed the ban that was in force on visits to care homes.