Reza Mahmud :
Wearing face masks is recommended as part of personal protective equipment and as a public health measure to contain the ongoing surge of coronavirus cases in the country.
The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 (NTAC) recently suggested the government to distribute face masks among the people free of costs.
Public health experts said that wearing face masks can play a vital role on containing the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the people are widely breaching the restriction of not going outside without wearing facemasks properly.
The NTAC Chairman Professor Mohammad Sahidullah said that distributing free mask can be effective to contain the current coronavirus spike.
He said that free distribution of face masks among general people is a must to ensure its use.
The members of the NTAC said that the people are violating the government directives about wearing facemasks and it poses huge risks of spreading the fatal virus.
They said, many people ignoring mask use as they need money to buy it.
In this situation the committee suggested the government to distribute free masks among people to contain Covid.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of the World Health Organisation told The New Nation, “Face masks should be provided to all people by the government so that they can get it without spending money.” He said government should distribute at least two washable quality masks so that the people can use it for long by washing.
He also suggested making it punishable offence who does not wear masks outside.
When contacted, Dr. Robed Amin, spokesperson of the Directorate General of Health Services told The New Nation on Saturday, “Many NGO’s and volunteer organizations are distributing face mask free in costs among the people. But I have no any information that the government has initiated such free distribution of facemasks.”
Meanwhile, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Md. Atiqul Islam on started free mask distribution campaign on Saturday.
The mayor said that the campaign will going on till January 31 in DNCC’s all wards and shoping malls.
DNCC councilors also involved in the programme and will distribute about five lakh masks free in costs in order to contain coronavirus contaminations, the mayor said during inaugurating the programme at Karwanbazar.
