Attachments
Background
This document summarizes WHO’s recommendations for the rational use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in health care and community settings, as well as during the handling of cargo; in this context, PPE includes gloves, medical masks, goggles or a face shield, and gowns, as well as for specific procedures, respirators (i.e. N95 or FFP2 standard or equivalent) and aprons. It is intended for those involved in distributing and managing PPE, as well as public health authorities and individuals in health care and community settings, and it provides information about when PPE use is most appropriate.
WHO will continue update these recommendations as new information becomes available.
Preventive measures for COVID-19 disease
Based on the available evidence, the COVID-19 virus is transmitted between people through close contact and droplets, not by airborne transmission. The people most at risk of infection are those who are in close contact with a COVID-19 patient or who care for COVID-19 patients.
Preventive and mitigation measures are key. The most effective preventive measures in the community include:
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performing hand hygiene frequently with an alcohol-based hand rub if your hands are not visibly dirty or with soap and water if hands are dirty;
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avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth;
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practicing respiratory hygiene by coughing or sneezing into a bent elbow or tissue and then immediately disposing of the tissue;
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wearing a medical mask if you have respiratory symptoms and performing hand hygiene after disposing of the mask;
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maintaining social distance (a minimum of 1 metre) from persons with respiratory symptoms.
Additional precautions are required by health care workers to protect themselves and prevent transmission in the healthcare setting. Precautions to be implemented by health care workers caring for patients with COVID-19 include using PPE appropriately; this involves selecting proper PPE and being trained in how to put on, remove, and dispose of it.
PPE is only one effective measure within a package of administrative and environmental and engineering controls, as described in WHO’s Infection prevention and control of epidemic- and pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in health care.1 These controls are summarized here.
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Administrative controls include ensuring resources for infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, such as appropriate infrastructure, the development of clear IPC policies, facilitated access to laboratory testing, appropriate triage and placement of patients, adequate staff-to-patient ratios, and training of staff.
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Environmental and engineering controls aim at reducing the spread of pathogens and the contamination of surfaces and inanimate objects. They include providing adequate space to allow social distance of at least 1 m to be maintained between patients and between patients and health care workers and ensuring the availability of well-ventilated isolation rooms for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that is different from Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is transmitted through infected bodily fluids. Because of these differences in transmission, the PPE requirements for COVID-19 are different from those required for EVD. Specifically, coveralls (sometimes called Ebola PPE) are not required when managing COVID-19 patients.