County Buys Custom Facemasks/Neck Sleeves
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office recently purchased some customized “neck sleeves” for face protection against coronavirus while deputies are on duty. But a recent study by researchers at Duke University indicates that wearing such a mask is actually worse than wearing no mask at all.
According to a recent Fayette County expense report, the Sheriff’s Office purchased 60 Eco Manta Neck Sleeves from the company Visual Promotions of Sealy. The total cost was $545.58, which included custom printing with the Sheriff’s Office logo.
The County wrote a check for the purchase on Aug. 7. That same day, an article by the researchers from Duke University appeared in the journal “Science Advances.” The article compared the effectiveness of several different types of face masks, including neck sleeves, which the researchers termed “neck fleece.” They measured the transmission of droplets through the various masks. Fitted N95 masks performed the best, with a droplet transmission rate of 0.1%. Surgical masks and various homemade cotton and polyester masks also performed quite well. Bandanas and neck sleeves performed the worst. Bandanas were only slightly more effective at limiting droplet transmission than wearing no mask at all. Neck sleeves, the researchers say, actually transmit more droplets than wearing no mask at all. They measured the transmission rate at 110% compared to no mask.
“We attribute this increase to the neck fleece dispersing larger droplets into several smaller droplets, therefore increasing the droplet count,” the researchers stated.
Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie of the Sheriff’s Office told the Record last Tuesday that all deputies were issued N95 masks to wear when in contact with someone they suspect to have COVID-19.
“You see people wearing handkerchiefs and all that, but any mask isn’t good unless it’s an N95,” Noviskie said. “We have N95 masks. If an officer gets into a situation where someone is COVID positive, we’ve got that. But these (neck sleeves) are good because an officer can put them around their neck and pull them up real quick for self-protection. It’s real hard to do our job in a paper mask.”
The Fayette County EMS also recently purchased 50 face masks with custom-printed logos from C&C Sports Apparel in Hempstead. The company says their masks are made from 8.5 oz. poly-fleece fabric that covers the face and mouth and are washable and reusable. The total cost was $240.50.
Fayette County Emergency Management Chief Craig Moreau told the Record Wednesday that the EMS masks will not be used in clinical settings. All EMS personnel wear N95 masks when treating patients.
“The only mask that protects the wearer in a clinical setting is the N95 masks,” Moreau said. “N95s are hard to come by and are expensive. We are fortunate to get a weekly shipment from the state. But that may not last forever, so we are being as cautious as we can.”
He said EMS personnel may sometimes wear the new customs masks over their N95s while treating someone as a way of extending the life of the N95 masks.
The Record asked Moreau why County personnel couldn’t wear cheap paper masks to perform the same function.
“They wear out and the straps break,” Moreau said. “The custom ones last a long time. The ones that the Sheriff’s Office is using, you can put it down on your neck and it’s always there.”
Moreau said he saw some recent headlines about the Duke study but he had not yet read it.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends against the public wearing N95 or surgical masks. The CDC says N95 and surgical masks should be reserved for healthcare workers and first responders since those masks are in short supply. Instead, the CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings.