Care facility workers say Government cloth masks too small for adults

From NHK World

April 17th 2020

Workers at a care facility in Japan say the cloth masks provided by the government are too small for adults.

The Japanese government is sending two cloth masks to each household across the country from Friday.

Masks have already been sent to some nursing homes and daycare centers. A facility in Fukushima City, northeastern Japan, received a total of 300 cloth masks of three different types earlier this month.

Facility staff say the masks are too small for adults to cover their nose and mouth. Some have resorted to putting a cloth mask inside a disposable one so they can use the disposable one longer.

Matsuzaki Akiyo, the facility’s manager, says she prefers disposable masks because cloth masks are said to be less effective in preventing infections.

She added that cloth masks can help if they are used along with usual masks, and that she wants to be able to wash them to keep them sanitized.