Scientists have found that moist heat treatment of N95 masks eliminates the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19, an advance which could allow reuse of these scarce resources in hospitals and long-term care facilities. According to the study, published in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), moist heat treatment of masks for 60 min at 70 degrees Celsius in a humid condition did not damage their structure or affect function.

"A single heat treatment rendered SARS-CoV-2 undetectable in all mask samples," the scientists, including those from the University of Toronto in Canada, wrote in the study. "This low-cost reprocessing strategy can be applied 10 times without affecting the mask's filtration, breathing resistance, fit and comfort, and thus may help to alleviate the global shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic," said study co-author Gregory Borschel from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada.