Is KN95 Mask Safe to Use? Does KN95 Respirator Protect Against COVID-19?

Countries around the world are facing shortage of face masks, particularly the N95 ones, post the COVID-19 outbreak. Hence, leading health organisations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend N95 masks or N95 respirators for use by the general public. The CDC noted in its guidelines that N95 masks are critical supplies that must be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders to protect themselves from the respiratory disease.  

 Recently, the federal government announced the import of a large number of KN95 masks from China. People might ask " Is a KN95 respirator safe to use?" "Does KN95 mask protect against corona virus?"

 Here is the fact ...

1. What can KN95 mask filter?

Like the N95 mask, the KN95 masks are also required to capture and filter out 95% of particles smaller than 300 nm in the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These tiny particles are smaller than the droplets expelled while coughing, talking, or sneezing — making them an effective way to filter out germs, according to health officials.

2. How dose the KN95 mask protect you from COVID-19?

However, the size range of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is 65-125 nm. Does it means some virus particles can potentially slip through these coverings?

NO! Covid DOES NOT TRAVEL ON IT'S OWN. It's spreads by droplet transmission. It bonds to something larger. In this case to aerosol droplets produced while speaking or breathing - droplet size is about 1 micron.

I see this exact same comment over and over again. Like the blind leading the blind, smh. This is why it's important to learn from scientists and not by word of mouth on the internet.

Generally we don't exhale just raw Covid virus'. They usually come clumped together with other particles (mucus, residue, from lungs, more virus particles, water vapor, etc.) causing total size to increase above .3 microns.

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3. How is the quality of KN95 face mask?

According to the news site, N95 masks must pass a strict inspection and certification process from a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. However, due to the demand and need for PPE during this pandemic, manufacturers of KN95 masks can get approval from the Food and Drug Administration through an emergency authorization for a foreign certification as long as it meets the 95% filtration requirement, the news site reported. The FDA says the manufacturer of KN95 masks must also provide documentation that the masks and materials used are authentic, the article stated.

To be certified a KN95 mask, it must meet Chinese government requirements with a mask-fit test with less than or equal to 8% leakage when tested, according to several reports.

“N95 is the U.S. standard, and the KN95 is the China standard,” Sean Kelly, founder of New Jersey-based PPE of America whose company was among those tapped by Connecticut lawmakers to provide personal protective equipment to frontline workers in the state .