Coronavirus mask shortage

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Mar 4, 2020

On 2/28/2020 at 2:05 PM, zillynurz said:
My hospital has resorted to handing out face masks one at a time and you're expected to use the mask for your entire shift unless soiled. If you take it off, you're to put it in a bag and label it with your name to use later. Seems masks are in short supply or maybe people are hoarding them. Is this happening at your hospital?

Okay, that is just GROSS....and the high possibility of cross contaminating-wandering how bad it is to “reuse” a dirty mask. YUCK.

ashagreyjoy · Mar 5, 2020

my corrections facility ran short of surgical masks to place on inmates who are sick and being transported to and from court, with a flu outbreak. I doubt we have enough N95 masks for staff either. we are completely unprepared. and this is a county run facility. It's going to be the wild west over here.

StarShine975 · Mar 26, 2020

On 3/4/2020 at 1:07 PM, NurseSpeedy said:
Okay, that is just GROSS....and the high possibility of cross contaminating-wandering how bad it is to “reuse” a dirty mask. YUCK.

Wearing one day is not so bad when you look at my facility. I work LTC. I just heard today they are making us wear masks all shift but your get one mask for 48hours (Unless solid but who gets to decide?! Me or them?!!) Yes 48 hours. I am so pissed; that is so disgusting. I am trying to find the safety of this practice but there's nothing because it is unsanitary. Period. I am stuck, my family needs me to work so I guess bow down to the unsanitary conditions....

WisconsinCheddr · Apr 7, 2020

On 3/26/2020 at 4:21 PM, StarShine975 said:
Wearing one day is not so bad when you look at my facility. I work LTC. I just heard today they are making us wear masks all shift but your get one mask for 48hours (Unless solid but who gets to decide?! Me or them?!!) Yes 48 hours. I am so pissed; that is so disgusting. I am trying to find the safety of this practice but there's nothing because it is unsanitary. Period. I am stuck, my family needs me to work so I guess bow down to the unsanitary conditions....

I work in LTC as well and we get a new [surgical cloth style] mask every 2 weeks. We must wear it every second inside the building, fold it and place carefully in a brown paper sack for transport or storage between shifts. It's gross. I sweat profusely, and my face breaks out like I'm 14 again. It reminds me of being a little kid with the covers pulled up over my head, and I'm trying to breathe normally through the fabric. Luckily, we don't have it as bad as the hospitals, but it still stinks.