Warning about Chinese knock-off masks.

Anyway – reports are 30-40% of the medical gear China is sending to Europe are fake/defective. Also, China is flooding Amazon and Ebay with fake masks. The most obvious ones are the non-ASTM certified disposable procedure masks. These are placing US Healthcare Workers at risk because these don’t even pass Level 1 ASTM standards and are really no better than a piece of tissue taped over your face.

For COVID-19 you need an N95 or FFP2 mask or greater, with a Procedure Mask wrapped around that as another barrier, combined with a face shield. However since this virus is airborne, even walking hallways of hospitals you should always have at least an ASTM Level 2, Level 2+ or Level 3 that provides 98%+ filtration on 0.1 Micron Particulate.

Usually the bigger brands offer this – 3M, Adenna, Halyard, etc. However the entire majority of cheap chinese masks flooding the market do not offer this, and in fact fail Level 1 standards and should not be used.

I’m attaching a file that lists the specifications of various procedure masks. Please send this to friends/family, so they know what works and what doesn’t work – and the warning about new Chinese produced masks flooding the world that actually carry no certifications at all (and would not pass them).