Thread by @faisalislam

Impressive first return for Lord Deighton - 4.5m a month production of highest protective medical respirator masks from Honeywell’s Scottish site at Newhouse - 60% FFP3, 40% FFP2 - reserved for health/ care workers ... gov.uk/government/new…

We had 28m FFP3 masks in the pandemic stockpile... much of the stock dating back to the stock build by Labour Government in 2009, and so were officially out of date, but then retested. About 12m were distributed - so these numbers (70m) are significant...

two questions -

Govt rightly boasted that FFP3 masks were top spec, more than WHO -but now 40% will be FFP2 (still WHO/ US standards)...

Tho by standards of 12m distributed, 70m large, still arguments about whether should have been more widely distributed, eg to care homes/A&E

These respirators protect wearers (rather than regular masks which protect others FROM user) - so reserved for health & social care - but I’m not sure how many actually made it to SC during peak.

Medics wanted them in settings where Covid likely but not confirmed - A&E, ENT, GPs

Importantly, see responses in thread, these are not the masks transport users might want/ need, which are more about others being protected from possibility wearer is non-symptomatic spreader of Covid. This only works if loads of people do it..

Doesn’t seem to be happening in UK

- I’ll do a separate thread on the non-medical masks... doesnt seem to be widespread public adoption on transport at supermarkets etc - new social norm not established.

Unclear why PM did not choose to broadcast next day’s new advice on this to the nation last Sunday...