NHS trust asks staff to shave off beards so coronavirus masks will fit
Written by News on 27/02/2020
An NHS trust has asked its staff to shave off their beards to allow face masks to fit better as they try to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
Southampton University NHS Trust sent a mass email to tackle a “known problem” with ill-fitting masks on hairy faces.
It comes after the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US issued a poster showing 36 different kinds of facial hair and whether each style is compatible with a facepiece respirator or not.
The image has now been circulated by NHS medical director Derek Sandeman.
Small, pencil-type moustaches such as the “Zorro” and “Painter’s Brush” are allowed, but fuller growths including “mutton chops” and the “chin curtain” are out, according to the image.
However, staff with beards for religious or cultural reasons are exempt.
The memo states: “You will see that the presence of facial hair compromises the ability to protect any individual through a mask.
“I am writing to ask those who do not have a strong cultural or religious reason for a beard and who are working in at-risk areas to consider shaving.
“I recognise for some this is a big ask, that beards are so popular at present. However I do believe this is the right thing to do.”
More than 81,000 people worldwide have been infected by COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The number of deaths is approaching 3,000.
Public Health England and NHS England have been contacted to see if the guidance will be issued to hospitals nationally or if it is a matter for individual trusts.
Having originated in China, the virus has now spread to every continent, except Antarctica. There have been 15 confirmed cases in the UK so far.
Respirators, which cover at least the nose and mouth, are being used by many people in an effort to avoid infection.
According to the UK Health and Safety Executive, stubble and beards “make it impossible to get a good seal of the mask to the face”.
The poster states that a goatee, horseshoe and villain moustache are fine with caution but the hair should not cross the respirator’s sealing surface.
President Donald Trump said the risk from coronavirus remained “very low” in a White House briefing on Wednesday.
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He defended his administration’s handling of the crisis and said health experts were “ready, willing and able” to move quickly if the virus spreads.
(c) Sky News 2020: NHS trust asks staff to shave off beards so coronavirus masks will fit
