Ethiopian Standard Agency has drafted a new standard that prohibits the use of polythene materials and latex as inputs for cloth face masks for public use.

The Agency prepared the first-ever cloth face mask standard for manufacturers that describes the requirements for testing, making and proper usage of masks. A technical committee under the Agency has been drafting the document for the past month and tabled it to the National Standardisation Council, which is chaired by Melaku Alebel, minister of Trade & Industry, for approval last week.

Along with the technical team, a working group composed of members from the Ministry of Health, the Food & Drug Administration and textile manufacturers including companies in the Hawassa Industrial Park took part in the drafting process. The new face mask standard lies under the textile sector, one of the eight standard categories.

The washable cloth face masks shall be used for a minimum of five washing cycles after disinfection, according to the draft standard, which was designed in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The full wash cycle includes wetting, washing and rinsing and should last at least 30 minutes with a wash temperature of 60 degrees centigrade.

It also specifies the minimum requirements for the manufacturers, including the design and performance of the barrier masks, and also the testing methods for the cloth face masks intended to reduce the risk of general transmission of the infectious agent.

The barrier mask must be a multi-layer composite made of fabrics (nonwoven, woven, knit) with or without film and must have a device for adjustment around the user’s head or ears, according to the draft standard.

The masks shall have a minimum of two layers, an outer layer and an absorption layer, and must cover the middle of the nose to the bottom of the chin. Besides, all material used for barrier mask preparation should be allergic free and skin-friendly. The standard also set a cleaning and drying, packaging and labelling requirement for cloth face masks.

Individual or grouped packaging solutions are at manufacturers' discretion, and reusable cloth masks shall be packed in the same size in suitable packaging material free from contaminants. The manufacturers should also clearly mark their name, address, number of masks packed, instructions, and a recommended period of use for the barrier mask on the packaging.

“The hygiene conditions shall be controlled to reduce risks of contamination,” said Yesima Jeru, communications director at the Agency, which was established in 1972 and reports to the Ministry of Innovation & Technology.

As of yet, the Council has approved 253 mandatory and more than 10,000 voluntary standards. Generally, once the standards are set, they will remain active for five years before being revised, reaffirmed or withdrawn.