Table 2.

WHO recommendation for PPE based on risk of situation

PPE choice11	Surgical Masks11	N95 Respirators11
Rationale11	Large droplets (>5 μm) in short distance (<2m)	Infectious aerosols (<5 μm) over a long distance (>2m)
Pathogens11	Febrile acute respiratory disease, RSV, adenovirus, and influenza	Pulmonary tuberculosis, measles, SARS, novel or unknown organism causing acute respiratory diseases
Risk situations12	•Close contact within one meter of the patient; •Close contact within 2 meters of the patient; •Entering infectious patient’s room; •Clinical care; •All patients contact; •When infected patient used masks; •Routine care; •In screening area; •During patients’ transport; •Before and after patients contact and risk of splashes into the face.	•Aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs); •Procedures involving the respiratory tract; •Laboratory specimen collection from the respiratory tract; •If patients cough forcefully; •If patients do not comply with respiratory hygiene; •When patients may not be able to wear a mask; •Mortuary and critical care areas.

Data from World Health Organization (WHO): Infection prevention and control of epidemic- and pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in healthcare, 2014.¹¹

Abbreviations: AGP, aerosol-generating procedures; PPE, personal protective equipment; RSV, respiratory syncytial viral; SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.