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Standards & Codes: Standards for COVID-19

COVID-19 Standards

Multiple organizations have made their standards related to COVID-19, including ventilators, medical devices, and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) freely available. Registration may be required, and the standards may be read-only and cannot be downloaded. This is a selected list of standards and shouldn't be considered exhaustive.

UC San Diego Researchers:

ASTM & IEEE Standards

IEEE has created a custom search for standards and other IEEE documents relevant to COVID-19. 

Here are links to specific ASTM standards, for UC San Diego affiliates. Members of the public can register to access read-only versions.

Masks

  • ASTM F2299/F2299M-03(2017) Standard Test Method for Determining the Initial Efficiency of Materials Used in Medical Face Masks to Penetration by Particulates Using Latex Spheres
  • ASTM F2101-19 Standard Test Method for Evaluating the Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) of Medical Face Mask Materials, Using a Biological Aerosol of Staphylococcus aureus
  • ASTM F2100-21 Standard Specification for Performance of Materials Used in Medical Face Masks Updated
  • ASTM F1862/F1862M-17 Standard Test Method for Resistance of Medical Face Masks to Penetration by Synthetic Blood (Horizontal Projection of Fixed Volume at a Known Velocity)
  • ASTM F1494-14 Standard Terminology Relating to Protective Clothing

Medical Gowns

  • ASTM F2407 - 20 Standard Specification for Surgical Gowns Intended for Use in Healthcare Facilities Updated
  • ASTM F1671 / F1671M - 22 Standard Test Method for Resistance of Materials Used in Protective Clothing to Penetration by Blood-Borne Pathogens Using Phi-X174 Bacteriophage Penetration as a Test System Updated
  • ASTM F1868 - 17 Standard Test Method for Thermal and Evaporative Resistance of Clothing Materials Using a Sweating Hot Plate
  • ASTM D751 - 19 Standard Test Methods for Coated Fabrics
  • ASTM D1683/D1683M-17(2018) Standard Test Method for Failure in Sewn Seams of Woven Fabrics
  • ASTM D1776/D1776M-20 Standard Practice for Conditioning and Testing Textiles
  • ASTM D5034-21 Standard Test Method for Breaking Strength and Elongation of Textile Fabrics (Grab Test) Updated
  • ASTM D5587-15(2019) Standard Test Method for Tearing Strength of Fabrics by Trapezoid Procedure
  • ASTM D5733 - 99 Standard Test Method for Tearing Strength of Nonwoven Fabrics by the Trapezoid Procedure (Withdrawn 2008, No Replacement)
  • ASTM D6701-21 Standard Test Method for Determining Water Vapor Transmission Rates Through Nonwoven and Plastic Barriers Updated
  • ASTM F1494-14 Standard Terminology Relating to Protective Clothing

Gloves

  • ASTM D6319-19 Standard Specification for Nitrile Examination Gloves for Medical Application
  • ASTM D3578-19 Standard Specification for Rubber Examination Gloves
  • ASTM D5250-19 Standard Specification for Poly(vinyl chloride) Gloves for Medical Application
  • ASTM D6977-19 Standard Specification for Polychloroprene Examination Gloves for Medical Application

Hand Sanitizers

  • ASTM E2755-15 Standard Test Method for Determining the Bacteria-Eliminating Effectiveness of Healthcare Personnel Hand Rub Formulations Using Hands of Adults
  • ASTM E1174-21 Standard Test Method for Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Health Care Personnel Handwash Formulations Updated
  • ASTM E3058-16 Standard Test Method for Determining the Residual Kill Activity of Hand Antiseptic Formulations R

Respirators

Freely Available Standards

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation - Ventilators, Masks, Gowns and Surgical Drapes, Gloves, Sterilization and Disinfection (many of the links refer to other standards)
European Commission - Masks, Protective Clothing, Surgical Drapes, Gloves   
International Organization for Standards - Gloves, Ventilators, Protective Clothing, Medical Devices, Security and Resilience, Risk Management, Anesthetic and Respiratory Equipment, Medical Electrical Equipment

International Electrochemical Commission - Medical Electrical Equipment (IEC 60601-1)

  • Selected IEC and ISO standards, including ISO 80601-2, can be accessed from ANSI's Standards Connect website. Registration is required, and you'll need to download the FileOpen plugin to read the standards. (If the files don't open within the browser, open them in the standalone Adobe Acrobat program). 

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers - ASHRAE has made some standards freely available in read-only format (including Ventilation of Health Care Facilities). They also have a COVID-19 resources section that includes guidelines and other resources related to reopening, buildings, filtration/disinfection, and transportation.
National Fire Protection Association - Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management; Health Care Facilities, Protective Clothing; Fire Department Infection Control

 

Acknowledgements

This page is based on guides created at Purdue and University of Toronto.