Instruc­tions on the cor­rect use of face masks

Soite rec­om­mends that per­sons over the age of 12 use either a dis­pos­able, so-called sur­gi­cal face mask or a cloth mask in accor­dance with the rec­om­men­da­tion on the use of face masks.

The nation­al rec­om­men­da­tion is that cit­i­zens buy their own facial masks. Free masks are intend­ed for low-income cit­i­zens who can­not afford masks them­selves. Soite’s social ser­vices give out the masks to low-income cit­i­zens. You can call 040 806 5095 Mon­day to Fri­day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to ask about face masks for low-income citizens.

Putting on a face mask:

1. Wash or disinfect your hands before touching the face mask.
2. Take hold of the mask’s ties and draw them behind your ears on both sides of your face. The creases on the outside of the mask should point down. Do not touch the protective part of the mask!  
3. Press the mask onto your nose. In other words, shape the harder section at the upper edge of the mask so that the mask sits as tightly as possible against the forms of your nose.
4. Pull the lower edge of the mask under your chin. Do not touch the mask after this! A face mask can be worn for 1-2 hours or until it gets damp.

Tak­ing off and wash­ing / dis­pos­ing of a face mask:

1. Wash or disinfect your hands before touching the face mask.
2. Take the mask off with clean hands by grabbing hold of the ties. Do not touch the protective part of the mask!
3. If the mask is disposable put it in a plastic bag and then into a waste container. If you have used a reusable cloth mask, put it directly into the washing machine. A cloth mask should be washed in 90 degrees.
4. Wash or disinfect your hands after you have taken off the mask.

Soites instruc­tions in pdf for­mat on how to use face mask 

When should I use a mask?

A wider rec­om­men­da­tion on the use of face masks is in effect in Cen­tral Ostrobothnia.

The use of face masks is rec­om­mend­ed for peo­ple over the age of 12:

• in public spaces, stores and in other places when running errands outside the home
• in public transport and in the transport of persons who belong to an at-risk group
• at upper secondary institutes (vocational training and upper secondary school) and at universities of applied sciences and universities
• when going to coronavirus tests
• when returning to Finland from a risk country
• face masks can also be used in other situations, if it is impossible to maintain safe social distances.

A face mask is one method of pre­vent­ing the spread of coro­n­avirus infec­tions. It is still, how­ev­er, of utmost impor­tant to main­tain a safe­ty dis­tance of 1–2 meters any­time this is pos­si­ble, to wash one’s hands, to cough into one’s elbow or into a dis­pos­able hand­ker­chief and to avoid touch­ing one’s face.

Finnish Insti­tute for Health and Welfare’s instruc­tions for facial masks:

How to use facial masks cor­rect­ly, video (Finnish Insti­tute for Health and Wel­fare)
Rec­om­men­da­tion for the use of facial masks for cit­i­zens (Finnish Insti­tute for Health and Welfare)