Italy task force tests surgical masks

BOLOGNA, Italy: A group of doctors and other scientists in Bologna are testing new surgical masks to ensure they meet EU safety standards, hoping to get them faster to medical workers fighting coronavirus.

A group of professionals at the University of Bologna’s Policlinico di Sant’Orsola hospital are working around the clock to test and validate the surgical mask prototypes to European safety standards. The masks have been produced by over 100 companies in Italy, England, Germany and South Korea.

Shortages of masks for hospital workers have been a persistent challenge in Italy and around the world since the coronavirus emergency began, and many have worked without appropriate protection, risking their lives.

Over 100 doctors have died in Italy alone, according to estimates. "It’s not easy to make a mask. It seems like a small thing but it’s not," chemical and materials engineer Christiana Boi told AFP on Wednesday.

"You have to leave it open enough to breathe, but close it enough to block the aerosol." In the makeshift lab, a series of tests are performed by the team of about 30 people, from doctors and engineers, to pharmacists, microbiologists and chemists. The first checks the ability to breathe through the mask. At least half of all masks fail this first test, says Boi.