MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte was referring to cloth masks when he gave people tips on how to disinfect and reuse face masks amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.
On Tuesday, Duterte said in a public address that face masks could be reused once disinfected with alcohol or gasoline.
“Sa sinabi ni Presidente, he’s mentioning really ‘yung mga reusable na ginagamit natin katulad ng cloth mask,” DOH spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire said “Alam niyo naman kapag nagsasalita si Presidente baka mga jokes niya lang ‘yun especially for gasoline.”
“Pwede nating labhan at dapat labhan everyday ang cloth masks. Pagkatapos gamitin sa isang araw kailangan labhan, papatuyuin, ibibilad sa araw at saka gagamitin ulit kinabukasan,” she added.
The World Health Organization has said before that only non-medical fabric masks can be reused but these should be washed with water and detergent. It added that medical masks should be discarded immediately after use and preferably thrown in a closed bin.
“‘Yung mga surgical masks at N95 masks, it’s a single use only especially surgical masks hindi pwedeng hugasan kasi kapag hinugasan mo ‘yan may mga components ang masks natin na parang certain filtering mechanism na kapag hinugasan mo yan o binasa mo mawawala ‘yung epekto,” Vergeire said.
Vergeire, likewise, underscored the importance of properly disposing of used face masks to avoid possible transmission of the respiratory disease.
“Ang dami nating nakikita no, ‘yung mga mask nakatapon lang sa kalye, nakakalat sa iba’t ibang lugar. Kailangan kung paano natin i-treat ‘yung mga maduduming bagay at saka ‘yung ibang infectious waste, ganun din ang pag-treat natin at pag-handle dito sa mga masks,” she said./PN
