Soon a uniform CH standard for fabric masks?

There is still no standard for community masks in Switzerland. However, according to the Swiss Association for Standardization (SNV), this is important, as a standard could define which requirements such masks and the associated test procedures must meet. The SNV emphasizes, "As soon as there are uniform test procedures, the different masks can be compared with each other in terms of various parameters, such as filter efficiency. The comparative value would give consumers a point of reference when buying masks and they would be able to judge which community masks are of high quality and which are not."

What is the current status?

At the national level, the first recommendations on minimum requirements for community masks were issued in a recommendation paper by the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Task Force. In addition, SNV has launched an initiative to develop a national normative document as soon as possible. First meetings with stakeholders and industry representatives and from research institutes have taken place.

For all stakeholders, it is clear that a quick solution is needed to create clarity for producers, testing institutes and consumers. Since the development of a standard is very time-consuming, the SNV has decided to develop a Swiss rule together with the interested organizations and companies. The advantage of such a rule is that it contains fewer procedural requirements than a Swiss standard. This is because the public consultation is optional and the consensus is formed in the working group, which means a time saving of at least three months.

On October 29, 2020, the scope of the normative document was agreed upon, SNV said. The scope defines the scope of the Swiss rule, it said. The working group agreed that the Swiss rule should specify requirements for design, performance, test methods and reusability of community masks, it said.

Influence on the European Committee

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has defined initial minimum requirements and test methods for community masks in a CEN workshop agreement. A corresponding Technical Specification (TS) is in progress at the European level. But why don't Swiss producers and consumers simply wait for the standard to be finalized at the European level? According to SNV, the preparation of a separate normative document for community masks has the advantage for Switzerland that fewer stakeholders are involved, publication can be completed more quickly compared to the European procedure, and the requirements for the document can be tailored specifically to Switzerland. Provided the Swiss rule is finalized early enough, it can be taken into account in the development of the European technical specification, according to the standards association.

Source: SNV; more on this topic here