Unlocking the surge in demand for personal and protective equipment (PPE) and improvised face coverings arising from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic – Implications for efficacy, re-use and sustainable waste management

Currently, there is no effective vaccine for tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 with the occurrence of repeat waves of infection frequently stretching hospital resources beyond capacity. Disease countermeasures rely upon preventing person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV2 so as to protect front-line healthcare workers (HCWs). COVID-19 brings enormous challenges in terms of sustaining the supply chain for single-use-plastic personal and protective equipment (PPE). Post-COVID-19, the changes in medical practice will drive high demand for PPE. Important countermeasures for preventing COVID-19 transmission include mitigating potential high risk aerosol transmission in healthcare setting using medical PPE (such as filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs)) and the appropriate use of face coverings by the general public that carries a lower transmission risk. PPE reuse is a potential short term solution during COVID-19 pandemic where there is increased evidence for effective deployment of reprocessing methods such as vaporized hydrogen peroxide (30 to 35% VH2O2) used alone or combined with ozone, ultraviolet light at 254 nm (2000 mJ/cm(2)) and moist heat (60 °C at high humidity for 60 min). Barriers to PPE reuse include potentially trust and acceptance by HCWs. Efficacy of face coverings are influenced by the appropriate wearing to cover the nose and mouth, type of material used, number of layers, duration of wearing, and potentially superior use of ties over ear loops. Insertion of a nose clip into cloth coverings may help with maintaining fit. Use of 60 °C for 60 min (such as, use of domestic washing machine and spin dryer) has been advocated for face covering decontamination. Risk of virus infiltration in improvised face coverings is potentially increased by duration of wearing due to humidity, liquid diffusion and virus retention. Future sustained use of PPE will be influenced by the availability of recyclable PPE and by innovative biomedical waste management.