Health Ministry issues advisory for reuse of eye-protection goggles for healthcare workers

Issuing an advisory on Thursday for re-processing of eye-protection goggles, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has said that healthcare workers must reuse the goggles at least up to five times. Taking a major decision, it has said that goggles will not be kitted with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from now on. In the advisory, the Health Ministry stated that the goggles used by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 fight can be used at least five times till it gets damaged or optically unclear. However, the government emphasized that hand hygiene must be followed even if gloves are being used. 

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Here are the full guidelines:

1. The guideline states that centre decided that all goggles that conform to prescribed EN or the BIS specifications will be re-used, and the goggles will not be kitted with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

2. It states that reprocessing and reuse of goggles must be done only when it is dedicated to each individual. In that case, names are advised to be written over the bands.

3. Reprocessing must be done after every use before using it again. It strictly advises the users to adhere to the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning and disinfection of goggles, wherever available.

4. The guidelines further states that goggles should be cleaned with soap/detergent and water after which it must be immersed in 1 per cent freshly prepared sodium hypochlorite for 10 minutes.

5. It should be wiped from inside and outside with clean water to remove residue.It should then be air-dried completely on a clean flat surface or by hanging in a clean place, or using clean tissue papers.

6. For its storage purposes, the government suggested that paper bag or a clean area should be chosen to avoid any recontamination.

7. The Centre also added that extended use 'doesn’t amount to infinite use.'

8. Goggles to be disinfected by users and re-used at least five times each, whereby one pair of goggles will suffice for 6 days.

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Coronavirus in India

As on Thursday, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,531 and the number of cases climbed to 1,58,333 in the country, registering an increase of 194 deaths and 6,566 cases in the last 24 hours till 8 am, the Union Health Ministry said. The number of active COVID-19 cases stand at 86,110 while 67,691 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. The total confirmed cases includes foreigners.

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