How to Safely Put On and Remove PPE
Sequence for Putting on (donning) a Surgical Mask or Community Mask Correctly
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands before putting on your surgical mask or cloth face covering
- Put it over your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin
- Try to fit it snugly against the sides of your face
- Make sure you can breathe easily
Taking Off a Surgical Mask or Community Mask Correctly
- Untie the strings behind your head or stretch the ear loops
- Handle only by the ear loops or ties
- Fold outside corners together
- Place washable cloth face-covering in the washing machine
- Place the disposable surgical mask in waste container
- Be careful not to touch your eyes, nose, and mouth when removing
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash hands immediately after removing
How to Store Community Mask for Reuse
- Do not place your cloth face covering directly in your pocket for later use
- Carefully fold the cloth face covering so the contaminated outside is folded inward and against itself
- Place it in a paper bag or tissue and wash your hands
Reusing Community Mask
When putting community mask back on:
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands before putting the community mask back on
- Be sure to grasp the community mask by the ear loops or strings
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands after putting community mask on
How to Wash community mask
Using a washing machine
- Include your mask with your regular laundry.
- Use regular laundry detergent and the appropriate settings according to the fabric label.
By hand
- Wash your mask with tap water and laundry detergent or soap.
- Rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove detergent or soap.
Putting on (donning) Disposable Gloves
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands
- Put on disposable gloves
Removing (doffing) Disposable Gloves
- Dirty to dirty – pinch outside of glove
- Peel first glove off and hold it with your gloved hand
- Clean to clean – slip clean finger UNDER the remaining glove
- Peel glove off, rolling it over the top of the held glove
- Dispose of gloves in the correct waste bin
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands
Putting on Eye Protection and Face Shields
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands before putting on your Eye Protection
- Position goggles or glasses over eyes and secure to your head using earpieces or headband
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands before putting on your Face Shield
- Position face shield over face and secure on brow with headband
- Adjust to fit comfortably
How to Clean Reusable Face Shields – Use OXIVIR 1:64% concentration
- Wipe front and back of face shield
- Wipe elastic band
- Wipe foam band
- Place face shield on a clean surface to dry
- Once the face shield is dry store it in a clean container
Putting on (donning) Gown/Apron
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands
- Open the gown without it touching any surfaces such as floors or walls
- Ties secured at the waist at the back
- The wearer should not wear clothing that fits below the elbows
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands
- Open the apron without it touching any surfaces such as floor or wall
- Ties secured at the waist at the back
Removing (doffing) Gown/Apron
- Untie the gown
- Pull the gown away from you
- Roll it inwards and downwards. Make sure you bend forward slightly to reduce self-contamination
- Discard the gown into the general waste bin
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands
- Break or undo apron ties
- Break neck strap
- Hold apron away from yourself, touching the inside of apron only, fold apron in on itself and roll up
- Discard the apron into the general waste bin
- Perform hand hygiene – Wash your hands