[magnus]

BTW, does wearing a mask more often require you to purchase more of them, or can one mask last for weeks/months/forever?

My daughter has a pack of n95 masks she bought last summer for gardening. The instructions on the package say they are safe for re-use after 5 days wait.

@teejers, I think the masks that OF is talking about are homemade cloth ones.  Those are likely washable.  
In general, you probably don't want to wear the same mask for too long as even the best ones will degrade over time, not to mention get really raunchy if you put them on right after you had some odoriferous (garlicky?) meal.  

It sounds like all the official hospital specs (1 time use only) for N95s and surgical masks are getting thrown out the window in these lean times.  But that 1 time use only is in a healthcare setting so it might be more lax for everyone else (as oregontime wrote).

[magnus]

BTW, does wearing a mask more often require you to purchase more of them, or can one mask last for weeks/months/forever?

My daughter has a pack of n95 masks she bought last summer for gardening. The instructions on the package say they are safe for re-use after 5 days wait.

@teejers, I think the masks that OF is talking about are homemade cloth ones.  Those are likely washable.  
In general, you probably don't want to wear the same mask for too long as even the best ones will degrade over time, not to mention get really raunchy if you put them on right after you had some odoriferous (garlicky?) meal.  

It sounds like all the official hospital specs (1 time use only) for N95s and surgical masks are getting thrown out the window in these lean times.  But that 1 time use only is in a healthcare setting so it might be more lax for everyone else (as oregontime wrote).