‘Home-made masks allowed’
Safety first: Security personnel wearing masks while on duty.
KUALA LUMPUR: Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah says his ministry will not stop people from wearing home-made face coverings following new recommendations by US and Singaporean authorities.
“It’s certainly up to the public to decide. Our guidelines are clear – the public should stay home, avoid crowded areas, practise social distancing and hand washing.
“But all frontline health or counter service workers must wear masks and they, too, should not neglect hand washing and social distancing,” he told The Star yesterday.
While the movement control order helps contain the spread of Covid-19, Malaysians are still allowed to do some basic activities such as going to the market, pharmacy, hospital or office for certain work while adopting social distancing and hand washing.
But there is concern that social distancing may not work as shown in the Skagit Valley Chorale case in Washington state, the United States.
Out of 60 singers who went to a choir practice there, 45 were diagnosed with Covid-19 and at least three were hospitalised and two died.
Dr Noor Hisham was asked if the ministry would recommend the use of non-surgical face masks following the recommendation made by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday.
Recent studies have found that some individuals infected with the Covid-19 virus transmit the disease to others before showing symptoms, and that means the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity whether through speaking, coughing or sneezing.
With the new evidence, the CDC has recommended “wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain such as in grocery stores and pharmacies, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission”.
“Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure,” the CDC said on its website.
In a video uploaded with the statement, US surgeon general Dr Jerome Adams demonstrated how one can make a face covering from an old T-shirt.
The CDC also said that maintaining six feet (1.83m) of social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus besides existing coronavirus guidelines.
On Friday, Singapore also announced it would no longer discourage its citizens from wearing masks as there is evidence that a few people can be asymptomatic and the government will distribute reusable masks to all households from today to April 12, The Straits Times reported.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the masks should be washed and dried properly at the end of a day of use.
“But remember, mask or no mask, you still need to wash your hands and keep a safe distance away from other people,” he added.
He said the move also came in the wake of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reviewing of its stance on the issue of face masks.
Many countries have encouraged only those who are unwell to wear masks based on current scientific advice and guidelines from WHO.
Malaysian Public Health Medicine Specialist Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said it adhered to the Health Ministry and WHO guidelines.
But with new clusters and infections in the community, it is all right for people to use home-made cloth masks in public places as long as suitable material are used and they are frequently changed and properly washed or disposed.
Concurring with Dr Zainal, Fomca supreme council member Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said a small amount of saliva does get out of the mouth when people speak and they, especially the elderly, should consider wearing a face cover made of cloth or towel to protect themselves in public places.
Due to the global shortage, surgical face masks and face shields should be set aside for the frontliners, he added. - Star
“It’s certainly up to the public to decide. Our guidelines are clear – the public should stay home, avoid crowded areas, practise social distancing and hand washing.
“But all frontline health or counter service workers must wear masks and they, too, should not neglect hand washing and social distancing,” he told The Star yesterday.
While the movement control order helps contain the spread of Covid-19, Malaysians are still allowed to do some basic activities such as going to the market, pharmacy, hospital or office for certain work while adopting social distancing and hand washing.
But there is concern that social distancing may not work as shown in the Skagit Valley Chorale case in Washington state, the United States.
Out of 60 singers who went to a choir practice there, 45 were diagnosed with Covid-19 and at least three were hospitalised and two died.
Dr Noor Hisham was asked if the ministry would recommend the use of non-surgical face masks following the recommendation made by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday.
Recent studies have found that some individuals infected with the Covid-19 virus transmit the disease to others before showing symptoms, and that means the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity whether through speaking, coughing or sneezing.
With the new evidence, the CDC has recommended “wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain such as in grocery stores and pharmacies, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission”.
“Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure,” the CDC said on its website.
In a video uploaded with the statement, US surgeon general Dr Jerome Adams demonstrated how one can make a face covering from an old T-shirt.
The CDC also said that maintaining six feet (1.83m) of social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus besides existing coronavirus guidelines.
On Friday, Singapore also announced it would no longer discourage its citizens from wearing masks as there is evidence that a few people can be asymptomatic and the government will distribute reusable masks to all households from today to April 12, The Straits Times reported.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the masks should be washed and dried properly at the end of a day of use.
“But remember, mask or no mask, you still need to wash your hands and keep a safe distance away from other people,” he added.
He said the move also came in the wake of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reviewing of its stance on the issue of face masks.
Many countries have encouraged only those who are unwell to wear masks based on current scientific advice and guidelines from WHO.
Malaysian Public Health Medicine Specialist Association president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said it adhered to the Health Ministry and WHO guidelines.
But with new clusters and infections in the community, it is all right for people to use home-made cloth masks in public places as long as suitable material are used and they are frequently changed and properly washed or disposed.
Concurring with Dr Zainal, Fomca supreme council member Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said a small amount of saliva does get out of the mouth when people speak and they, especially the elderly, should consider wearing a face cover made of cloth or towel to protect themselves in public places.
Due to the global shortage, surgical face masks and face shields should be set aside for the frontliners, he added. - Star
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