Health Use Personal Protective Equipment when caring for Patients with Confirmed or Suspected COVID Poster

CS 315838-A    03/20/2020	
cdc.gov/COVID19	
COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) for Healthcare Personnel	
CS 315838-B    03/20/2020	
cdc.gov/COVID19	
COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) for Healthcare Personnel	
 	
 	 	
 	
 	
Use  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) When 
Caring for Patients with Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 	
Print Resources Web Page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/print-resources.html 	
Before caring for patients with confrmed or suspected COVID-19, healthcare personnel (HCP) must: 
• Receive comprehensive training on when and what PPE is necessary, how to don (put on) and dof (take of ) PPE, limitations of 
PPE, and proper care, maintenance, and disposal of PPE. 
•  Demonstrate competency in performing appropriate infection control practices and procedures. 
Remember: 
• PPE must be donned correctly before entering the patient area (e.g., isolation room, unit if cohorting). 
•  PPE must remain in place and be worn correctly for the duration of work in potentially contaminated areas. PPE should not 
be adjusted (e.g., retying gown, adjusting respirator/facemask) during patient care. 
•  PPE must be removed slowly and deliberately in a sequence that prevents self-contamination. A step-by-step process 
should be developed and used during training and patient care. 	
Preferred PPE – Use    N95 or Higher Respirator 	
Face shield or goggles 	
N95 or higher respirator When respirators are not 
available, use the best available 
alternative, like a facemask. 	
One pair of clean, 
non-sterile gloves 	
Isolation gown 	
Acceptable Alternative PPE – Use    Facemask 	
Face shield or goggles 
Facemask 	
N95 or higher respirators are 
preferred but facemasks are an 
acceptable alternative. 	
One pair of clean, 
non-sterile gloves 	
Isolation gown 	
Donning (putting  on the gear): 
More than one donning method may be acceptable. Training and practice using your healthcare facility’s procedure is critical. Below is one example of donning. 
1.  Identify and gather the proper PPE to don. Ensure choice of gown 
size is correct (based on training). 
2.  Perform hand hygiene using hand sanitizer. 
3.  Put on isolation gown. Tie all of the ties on the gown. Assistance may 
be needed by another HCP. 
4.  Put on NIOSH-approved N95 fltering facepiece respirator or 
higher (use a facemask if a respirator is not available). 
If the respirator has a nosepiece, it should be ftted to the nose with both 
hands, not bent or tented. Do not pinch the nosepiece with one hand. 
Respirator/facemask should be extended under chin. Both your mouth 
and nose should be protected. Do not wear respirator/facemask under 
your chin or store in scrubs pocket between patients.* 
» Respirator: Respirator straps should be placed on crown of head (top 
strap) and base of neck (bottom strap). Perform a user seal check each 
time you put on the respirator. 
»  Facemask: Mask ties should be secured on crown of head (top tie) and 
base of neck (bottom tie). If mask has loops, hook them appropriately 
around your ears. 
5.  Put on face shield or goggles. Face shields provide full face coverage. 
Goggles also provide excellent protection for eyes, but fogging is common. 
6.  Perform hand hygiene before putting on gloves. Gloves should cover 
the cuf (wrist) of gown. 
7.  HCP may now enter patient room. 	
Dofng (taking of the gear): 
More than one dofng method may be acceptable. Training and practice using your healthcare 
facility’s procedure is critical. Below is one example of dofng. 
1.  Remove gloves. Ensure glove removal does not cause additional contamination of 
hands. Gloves can be removed using more than one technique (e.g., glove-in-glove or 
bird beak). 
2.  Remove gown. Untie all ties (or unsnap all buttons). Some gown ties can be broken 
rather than untied. Do so in gentle manner, avoiding a forceful movement. Reach up to 
the shoulders and carefully pull gown down and away from the body. Rolling the gown 
down is an acceptable approach. Dispose in trash receptacle.* 
3.  HCP may now exit patient room. 
4.  Perform hand hygiene. 
5.  Remove face shield or goggles. Carefully remove face shield or goggles by grabbing 
the strap and pulling upwards and away from head. Do not touch the front of face 
shield or goggles. 
6.  Remove and discard respirator (or facemask if used instead of respirator).* 
Do not touch the front of the respirator or facemask. 
» Respirator:  Remove the bottom strap by touching only the strap and bring it carefully 
over the head. Grasp the top strap and bring it carefully over the head, and then pull 
the respirator away from the face without touching the front of the respirator. 
»  Facemask: Carefully untie (or unhook from the ears) and pull away from face without 
touching the front. 
7.  Perform hand hygiene after removing the respirator/facemask and before 
putting it on again if your workplace is practicing reuse. 	
*Facilities implementing reuse or extended use of PPE will need 
to adjust their donning and dofng procedures to accommodate 
those practices. 	
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus 	
CS 316124-A   03/30/2020