Maybe it is just me, but in all the photos of the rescued people on the planes, they are masked ect. but wearing what looks like their usual clothing such as outdoor jackets, hats and footwear.
Would it not be more sanitary if everyone on those planes wore some kind of white (to see dirt) protective clothing and head coverings? imo, speculation.
Can clothes and towels spread germs?
''Germs on clothes and towels can come from our own body. We all have bacteria on the surface of our skin, in our noses and in our gut. These are often harmless, but some can cause infection, particularly in people with skin problems or wounds.''
''However, you can also pick up germs on your outer clothes, for example if you nurse someone with an illness or clean up vomit. Germs can also get onto outer clothing if you handle contaminated food or brush against a soiled object.
Most germs can survive on fabrics for some time. Read more about
how long bacteria and viruses live outside the body.''
The Economic Times
A Nurse's Guide To Isolation Precuations
Airborne Isolation Precautions
airborne infections include spores or desiccated nuclei of pathogens, such as spore of Aspergillus and tuberculosis.
Airborne isolation precautions are used to prevent transmission of droplet-borne pathogens of less than 5 µm and those that may be disseminated within a facility over distances more than 10 feet. In addition, droplet-borne or contact-based infections that desiccate, or dry out, on a surface can be aerosolized in an environment, increasing transmissibility.
Airborne pathogens also have an increased infective rate. In other words, transmissibility increases as these infectious agents spread throughout a facility to those that have not been in the same room as an infected patient or hand indirect or direct contact with such patient. Therefore, special care must be taken to prevent their transmission, including these steps.
1. The Patient Should Be in a Negative-Pressure Room
A negative-pressure room maintains a lower pressure via the ventilation system that prevents airborne pathogens form exiting the room through an opened door. This is comparable to the effect of a mild vacuum or feeling air rush into an enclosed when opening the doors.
2. Wear an Appropriate Respirator
Due to the decreased size of the infectious agents in airborne illnesses, such as spores or dried, aerosolized nuclei, a higher-level respirator is needed to prevent their inhalation. The respirator should have an NIOSH rating of N95 or higher, and the respirator should be applied prior to entering the patient room. Otherwise known as a “duck-billed” mask, the respirator should adhere to the face without obstruction. Therefore, caregivers wearing heavy makeup or those with excess facial hair may be susceptible to infection via airborne pathogens.
3. Dispose of PPE in the Adjunct Room, Not Another Patient’s Room
Most negative-pressure rooms have an adjunct room for donning PPE prior to entry. This room is part of the specialized ventilation system, and all PPE used in a negative-pressure room should be left on until the caregiver is within this room, having closed the patient’s primary room door. Handwashing should be completed within this room, and the specialized air ventilation system will draw airborne pathogens,
explains the CDC, into the patient’s room and through external air filters.
—- so yep, ideally, they should have had protective gowns that would have been discarded safely after they cleared the petri dish
