DETROIT – Michigan received an N95 mask decontamination device that will allow hospitals and medical centers to reuse masks up to 20 times each amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
May 3, 2020: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 43,754; Death toll now at 4,049N95 masks, or called N95 respirators, have been in short supply and high demand as the COVID-19 pandemic hit southeast Michigan and the rest of the country.
The device uses concentrated, vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to cleanse the masks and prepare them for reuse, officials said.
As of Friday hospitals and medical centers can send used N95 masks to Detroit’s TCF Center -- currently serving as a temporary field hospital -- where the decontamination device is located.
Battelle has sent employees to operate the device, officials said.