Reuse of face masks among adults in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Public Health

Table 4 Duration of use, storage and decontamination of used face masks (n = 345)

Performance	Mean	SD
Day of use (per mask)	2.5	5.5
	Frequency	Percentage
Storage of used face masks (practice)
Yes	207	60.0
No	138	40.0
Storage of used face masks (method)*
Placing the face mask inside a pocket	85	24.6
Placing the facemask inside a plastic bag	110	31.9
Placing the face mask inside a paper bag	100	29.0
Covering the face mask by tissue paper	198	57.4
Others	9	2.6
Decontamination of used face masks (practice)
Yes	115	32.2
No	242	67.8
Decontamination of used face masks (method)**
Using alcohol	40	11.6
Using detergent	9	2.6
Using sunlight	42	12.2
Using UV light	11	3.2
Using steam	8	2.3
Using iron heat	5	1.4
Using wind	82	23.8
Others	3	0.9

* Among the 207 subjects who stored the used face masks, some subjects adopted more than one method to store the used face masks
** Among the 115 subjects who decontaminated the used face masks, some subjects adopted more than one method to decontaminate the used face masks

ISSN: 1471-2458