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It is very common for surgical masks to be (wrongly) used for respiratory protection, but this picture has me mystified.
The picture is captioned “Health care workers, wearing protective suits, leave a high-risk area at a hospital. Pic: AFP.” and is from a story Sweden Ebola case suspected as patient isolated (AFP September 1, 2014 8:13AM) on the ABC website.
” A SUSPECTED case of the Ebola virus has been discovered in the Swedish capital Stockholm, a local official says. “So far it’s just a suspected case,” the official said, without giving more details. The person fell ill after visiting an area known to be hit by the virus and is now being held in isolation, the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported on its website. Aake Oertsqvist, a specialist in infection control responsible for the Stockholm area, was quoted as saying the risk of an Ebola outbreak in Sweden was “very low”. “The virus is not airborne, but is spread among humans through direct or indirect contact via blood and other fluids,” he was quoted as saying.”
What has me mystified is the slit surgical mask placed over what looks like a duckbill respirator. Why the extra surgical mask?
The extra surgical mask would also interfere with the seal between the goggles and the face, increasing the risk of exposure to the eyes, so any benefit in giving extra protection to the face would appear to be negated.
