THE haze is back. And it came early.
If you can recall, our haze season used to be August-September but many parts of Malaysia are recording high air pollutant particulates this April.
The last time the haze made headlines was in September 2019. Then it seemed to disappear after the Covid-19 pandemic started in early 2020.
Perhaps the haze didn’t actually go away but we were so preoccupied with the coronavirus, and were staying indoors, that we didn’t notice it. Besides, we were all masked up so we felt protected from not just the virus but other air-borne pollutants.
After three years of wearing our masks, governments have relaxed pandemic protocols, including its use in many situations. Our Health Ministry dropped mandatory indoor masking, except on public transport and at medical facilities, in September last year.
That ruling was welcomed by many who think masks are pointless, especially when users remove them to drink or eat in restaurants. To me, this is a false narrative.
It has been well established that the chances of catching this air-borne virus depend on a few factors. Key among them is the length of exposure to the virus and the viral load present in the environment.
This means if you choose to eat in a small and crowded restaurant with poor ventilation and stay on to chat for hours with your friends, you sharply increase the risk of catching the virus – any virus for that matter.
The sensible thing is to keep the mask on till the food arrives and put it back on after eating for the chitchatting.
I often don’t use a mask when I am outdoors but I do when I’m indoors in places where people gather, like in restaurants, at the theatre, concerts or in the cinema. I do this to avoid catching Covid-19 and other air-borne viruses that can make me sick. I believe lots of people remain masked for the same reasons, and we are backed by experts.
Ajay Sethi, professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, told Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) that masks can help protect against other pathogens like rhinovirus, enterovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.
He added, “If you’re around somebody who’s coughing or sneezing, it may not be SARS-CoV-2. So wearing a mask protects against all those things that are spread by large droplets and, to some degree, the aerosolised pathogens too.”
That’s why even in the United States where the fiercest resistance to masking during the pandemic took place, there are level-headed people who intend to mask “forever”.
WPR also quoted Patricia Téllez-Girón, professor of family medicine at UW-Madison, who remembered occasionally seeing people wearing masks before 2020, especially while travelling, and finding it unusual and wondering if they were really sick.
She has now changed her perspective, saying, “No, they were smart! They already learned what we just learned.”
I wonder if Prof Tellez-Giron might have seen me on a plane since I was – ahem – one of the rare smart ones who would wear a mask on flights as far back as 20 years ago.
Much as we would like to be done with Covid-19, the virus is still mutating, and the latest Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.16 – or Arcturus – was first detected in India in January.
It’s causing a worrisome spike in cases in India and Nepal and has spread to more than 20 countries, including Australia, Britain, Singapore and the United States.
So far, Arcturus hasn’t proven to be more severe than earlier variants but it seems to more likely infect children under 12 and have unusual symptoms like conjunctivitis.
Our numbers are concerning too, with the Health Ministry reporting that the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases rose by 87.5%, with hospital admissions up by 30.5% and deaths by 25% in the 14 days leading up to April 8.
According to reports, Arcturus has just been detected in Malaysia but it is not known if the subvariant is pushing up the Covid numbers. As of April 8, the number of active cases nationally was more than 13,000.
Not surprising, then, that health officials are urging the public to mask up again. So the mask is a must indoors at the very least.
But here’s the rub. There are masks that shield us from pathogens but not necessarily from pollutants brought by the haze.
Governments monitor certain chemicals, namely, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter (PM) like fine dust or PM2.5 and PM10 in the air. That makes up the air pollutant index (API).
PM10 particles are smaller than 10 microns (0.01mm) and can cause eye and throat irritation and breathing difficulties. PM2.5 are smaller – just 0.0025mm – and are more dangerous as such particles can get lodged deep in the lungs and can cause cancer and other serious health problems.
The popular surgical masks, even the three-ply ones, unfortunately can only trap microbes and bodily fluids from coughs and sneezes but are totally ineffective against pollutants like fine dust from slash-and-burn land clearing and forest and peat fires that are now swirling in the air and reducing visibility.
So we need a mask that can protect us from viruses indoors and can filter out very fine PM outdoors.
I actually prefer wearing surgical masks because the loose fit is more comfortable, traps less heat and therefore feels less suffocating. But during this time of spiking Covid-19 cases and the haze, I am going to switch to the KN or KF mask.
The KN masks are regulated by China while KF is what South Koreans wear to protect themselves from unhealthy levels of fine and yellow dust that affects most of their country, especially during spring and winter. Both masks have a tighter fit.
The KN rating system of 90, 95 and 100 is used in China and indicates its filtering effectiveness. Hence a KN90 mask will filter at least 90% of particles at 0.3 micrometres in size, KN95 at least 95% of particles, and KN100 at least 99.97%.
KF ratings are given by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. KF stands for Korean Filter and the number shows effectiveness. A KF80 mask can block out 86% of fine dust while KF99 means it’s almost 100% effective.
I could try wearing two surgical masks like I did during the height of the pandemic but I think I will run the risk of fainting in this scorching heat wave. And I will definitely sweat buckets into the masks.
There is of course another alternative: just stay home and forget about morning walks, evening jogs and visiting the pasar malam until the heat and haze wane. And I might as well avoid public indoor places too with Arcturus lurking around. So it’s back to home sweat home.
The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.
