physically burdensome to employees, particularly when the use of PPE is not common practice for the work task. In the event of a shortage of surgical masks, a reusable face shield that can be decontaminated may be an acceptable method of protecting against droplet transmission of an infectious disease but will not protect against airborne transmission, to the extent that disease may spread in that manner.
Eye protection generally is not recommended to prevent influenza infection although there are limited examples where strains of influenza have caused eye infection (conjunctivitis). At the time of a pandemic, health officials will assess whether risk of conjunctival infection or transmission exists for the specific pandemic viral strain.
Employees should wash hands frequently with soap or sanitizing solutions to prevent hands from transferring potentially infectious material from surfaces to their mouths or noses. While employers and employees may choose to wear gloves, the exposure of concern is touching the mouth and nose with a contaminated hand and not exposure to the virus through non-intact skin (for example, cuts or scrapes). While the use of gloves may make employees more aware of potential hand contamination, there is no difference between intentional or unintentional touching of the mouth, nose or eyes with either a contaminated glove or a contaminated hand. If an employee does wear gloves, they should always wash their hands with soap or sanitizing solution immediately after removal to ensure that they did not contaminate their hand(s) while removing them.
When selecting PPE, employers should consider factors such as function, fit, ability to be decontaminated, disposal, and cost. Sometimes, when a piece of PPE will have to be used repeatedly for a long period of time, a more expensive and durable piece of PPE may be less expensive in the long run than a disposable piece of PPE. For example, in the event of a pandemic, there may be shortages of surgical masks. A reusable face shield that can be decontaminated may become the preferred method of protecting against droplet transmission in some workplaces. It should be noted that barrier protection, such as a surgical mask or face shield, will protect against droplet transmission of an infectious disease
