Everyone should wear a face mask in public urges health minister
Mkhize has recommended that people use cloth masks and that medical masks be used by healthcare professionals.
HEALTH Minister Zweli Mkhize has recommended that all South Africans start wearing cloth masks to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
He added cloth masks are easy and not expensive to make, reusable and help reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by acting like a shield to contain the respiratory droplets through which the virus spreads.
“We recommend the widespread use of cloth masks. Individuals can make their own masks. There shouldn’t be a need for everyone to wear surgical masks. Let’s reserve those for the frontline workers treating patients,” Mkhize said.
Cloth face mask recommendations: #MasksCOVID19 #ClothFaceMask @COVID_19_ZA @HealthZA pic.twitter.com/ptNsa4oUFl
— Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) April 10, 2020
He warned, however, that people must be cautious when using masks.
“Don’t keep touching or removing the mask. Treat the mask as potentially ineffective. Ensure regular washing of the mask,” the Minister said.
His recommendation comes after announcing that South Africa has 2 003 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19), with 24 deaths on Friday.
Mkhize said among those cases, the country has recorded 410 recoveries.
To date, Gauteng has the highest number of positive cases with 801, followed by the Western Cape with 541. KwaZulu-Natal has 412, Free State 94, Eastern Cape 68, Limpopo 24, Mpumalanga 20, North West 18 and the Northern Cape 15, with 10 unallocated cases.
He added that in the two weeks before the lockdown, the average daily increase in new cases was around 42%. Since the start of the lockdown, the average daily increase has been around 4%, the Minister said.
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