Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

You can wash cloth, but that is not the very best filtering PPE material.

And you have to wash it every time you see somebody else, so that's some laundry if you are in hospital or a care home. EDIT: and the laundry basket has to be completely sealed otherwise you now have a virus loaded and shedding basket...

But they do seem to be OK with cloth masks in USA for going to supermarket/home use the "70% filtering is better than nothing/we really need the best stuff for hospitals" reasoning seems to apply.

And you can wash them. But you have to dump them in soapy water outside your home right away, not bring them in the house and take a clean one every time.

Old skool flu epidemic photos show white cotton masks/aprons that would have probably been worn all day then boiled clean again. during/after the cleaning process it would be difficult to maintain sterility I guess, if not just getting minging blood stains etc in them all, plus the energy and resource required to do that on a use-once and chuck basis. Would avoid running out in an emergency though!

Can protective gowns and masks be washed and reused? Or is reusable PPE not a thing? Was it ever?

My local hospital has been using washable, reusable gowns for a week or so now.

There are methods, developed by uk companies, to sterilise FFP3 masks. I’m not sure if they met approval or have been adopted.