By Hua Mang-Ching and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerHand washing is frequently more important in preventing diseases than wearing a surgical mask, an infectious disease specialist said yesterday. Both “wet wash” and “dry wash” techniques can effectively prevent people from catching the virus, Miu said. However, after sterilization, masks need to be stored in a clean and dry environment for three days before being reused, he said. Studies have shown that secondhand masks have less effective filtration, but are still usable, he said. However, the masks worn by the more than 200 Taiwanese who returned to Taiwan yesterday from Wuhan, China, on an evacuated flight would be treated as medical waste to avoid possibly spreading the virus, the EPA said.

Source: Taipei Times February 04, 2020 15:56 UTC