Claim:
EKAB rescuers report that the mask is worn with the white side on the outside to filter the inhalation. The colored side on the outside filters our exhalation while protecting others from us. So, when we are sick we wear it with the colored side out, while for our own protection with the white side out.
Conclusion:
There is a proper way, to be worn with the hydrophobic, colored side outwards, and the hydrophilic, white side inwards. EKAB denies any such directive "two ways of implementation".
Instructions on how to wear a surgical mask have been re-released on the internet, with reports that there are two ways, depending on whether the person wearing it has contracted a contagious disease or is healthy and wants to be protected. However, these are not valid instructions.
Examples of articles: ekabitikanews.blogspot.com, ekabsfika.blogspot.com, fonimaleviziou.gr, deskatinews.gr, and in several posts in Facebook.
Briefly, it is reported that the mask when worn with the white side on the outside filters the inhalation. The colored side on the outside filters our exhalation while protecting others from us. So, when we are sick we wear it with the colored side out, while for our own protection with the white side out.
Is true;
It is obvious that the blog pages that display this claim on the Greek internet (Ekavitika News - ekabitikanews.blogspot.com, The Wasp of EKAB - ekabsfika.blogspot.com) are not the official website of the National Emergency Center, as it is the ekab.gr.
After our telephone communication with EKAB, we received the assurance that EKAB has never and in no way issued instructions with this content. In fact, the directive on the correct application "with the colored side inwards" is false information. The way of using / applying the surgical masks is one, and specifically with the colored side outwards.
Η colored (usually green or blue) surface of a surgical mask is hydrophobic, that is, it works by repelling the droplets that a person can accept. On the contrary, the poplar side, as hydrophilic, is worn on the inside to hold droplets that can be expelled by the person wearing it (eg pneumonia). See also the following indicative graph:
Source: rojakpot.com, which dealt with the allegation as it was released in Malaysia. (“How To Wear A Surgical Mask: The Hoax & The Truth!")
The correct use is pointed out in simple words by the university professor Dr. Seto Wing Hong, Head of Associate Center for Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Control of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the following video: “You got to wear it like this? the blue on the outside, the white on the inside", He notes.
It is noteworthy that a group of Fact-Checkers from Sri Lanka have recently refuted such a claim (AFP Sri Lanka) and a technology page from Malaysia.
In conclusion, from the available data and after contacting the competent authorities, the specific instructions are incorrect.
Note: this article does not address the effectiveness or appropriateness of using surgical / medical masks as a preventive measure against the transmission of viruses or in particular the new 2019-nCoV coronavirus. For preventive measures in view of this coronavirus you can consult the instructions of the National Agency for Public Health (EODY), of Ambulances and BACK, and, of course, your doctor.
Source: ellinikahoaxes.gr