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Navy helicopters are delivering respirators to health care crew members on board the USNS Comfort now treating COVID-19 patients in the New York City area, Navy officials said.

The delivery includes “air purifying respirators” to protect the health care team from inhaling viral agents while treating patients on the hospital ship in close quarters.

“The delivery was 20 Positive pressure suits for infectious disease control, extra filters, batteries, and battery chargers for the suits,” Navy spokeswoman Lt. Mary Catherine Walsh told Warrior Maven in a written statement.

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Given the need for a rapid, comprehensive response to the pandemic, the USNS is now treating both COVID-19 patients as well as others in need of treatment onboard the ship.

The respirators include “a full face mask device that provides complete respiratory isolation from the surrounding environment, with a tube connected to a filtration system that is worn on the belt,” Cmdr. Todd Morris, director of the department for medical services, said in a statement.

The Navy supply initiative, which used MH-60S helicopters, is designed to connect the ship’s treatment of patients with COVID-19 efforts at Javits New York Medical Station. As the respirators arrive onboard the USNS Comfort, personnel are testing the effectiveness of the equipment with saccharine mist. Saccharine mist is a flavored, harmless aerosol sprayed at a respirator mask to ensure it is airtight and properly fitted to the crew member wearing it, therefore preventing pathogens or viral agents from entering.

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It makes sense that respirators would be used for those in closest contact with infected patients because they are found to be much more effective than face masks, according to a published study from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

“Surgical masks are primarily designed to protect the environment from the wearer, whereas the respirators are supposed to protect the wearer from the environment,” the study states. Viral penetration with respirators, the study findings state, is much less than 5 percent.

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Also, as part of a massive, service-wide relief effort in support of supply deliveries, the Navy has published a COVID-19 Prevention document. Among many things, the document instructs sailors, commanders and civilians preparing for deployment onboard Navy ships to get screened before boarding, provide family contact information and quarantine for 14 days before boarding.