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FDA to public: Wash purchased cloth nose masks before wearing

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has cautioned the public to stop wearing cloth nose masks immediately after purchasing at the markets

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  • "If it is a cloth mask, I will always say again that please when you buy it, don’t put it on immediately, I will advise that you wash it, sanitise or disinfect it before you use it and make sure it is of the right quality."

Delese Mimi Darko, chief executive officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has advised the general public to wash cloth nose masks they purchase before wearing them.

Speaking with Asaase News, she said the FDA carries out routine surveillance to ensure the market is not flooded with substandard nose masks.

“We are still manufacturing the cloth masks; we still check the quality of the mask, so occasionally we do what we call market surveillance and there is actually one on at the moment. Sometimes the manufacturer or the country will not know, but we sample mask from every region and the laboratories will go ahead and check.

“If it is a cloth mask, I will always say again that please when you buy it, don’t put it on immediately, I will advise that you wash it, sanitise or disinfect it before you use it and make sure it is of the right quality,” Darko stated.

She also said the FDA has intensified education for those selling nose masks to ensure they handle it properly.

“We have intensified the education for people selling the masks. We have been going round the market educating people. Even when I am driving and I see masks I actually look at it and then I tell the person who is selling the mask about the dos and don’ts,” she added.

According to her, the best cloth masks have three layers and of high quality.

42% now wearing nose masks

Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has commended the public for wearing their nose masks in the open after its latest survey reveals an increase of 42%.

The director-general of GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, told journalists in Accra that this is a remarkable improvement in their previous survey in October last year which saw only 10% of the public wearing nose masks.

The survey also reveals the number of people not wearing the mask correctly has decreased from 72 to 36%.

“So, the good news is that about 42% of our people are now wearing masks appropriately, 36% were not wearing it at all, with about 22% not wearing masks at all and 26% were not wearing it correctly,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye said.

Fred Dzakpata

Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
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