By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has encouraged residents to wear non-medical masks in public to fight COVID-19 and prevent asymptomatic carriers from unknowingly spreading the disease.

However, he stressed only frontline healthcare workers should wear medical-grade masks and said others wearing masks with public health logos on them will at some point be prosecuted.

Dr Minnis also urged people or merchants with large stocks of medical masks to contact the Ministry of Health to sell them to officials, adding that in the near future the sale of such masks to the general public will be prohibited.

“(The) Ministry of Health has been urged to place special markers on their material, face mask etc, so we could identify such masks and at the appropriate time, if individuals are caught wearing hospital masks with the ministry’s emblem, those individuals will be prosecuted because we must protect our healthcare workers,” Dr Minnis said.

He said this is needed to prevent a run on masks needed for healthcare workers.

He said the government has enabled the production of re-usable, washable cotton masks in New Providence through various companies.

“I would at this moment urge every retail store, or persons, who have any stocks or supplies, of any medically approved surgical or face masks for sale, to contact the Ministry of Health immediately, in order to sell the same to public health (officials), as the sale of any medical masks to the general public will at some time be prohibited.”

To encourage and enable the large-scale production of cotton masks in the Family Islands, Dr Minnis said the Small Business Development Centre has been directed to provide funding to tailors and seamstresses so that sufficient masks are also available throughout the country.

He said the production of cloth masks presents an economic opportunity for business people and entrepreneurs.

“Going forward, The Bahamas will have to begin to manufacture a number of items for domestic needs. This will provide economic opportunities and jobs for Bahamians,” he said.

Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control recommended that Americans wear cloth masks in public to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The CDC says such cloth masks should: fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face; be secured with ties or ear loops; include multiple layers of fabric; allow for breathing without restriction and be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape.

“CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (eg, grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission,” the CDC’s website notes.

“CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. 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.

“Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age two, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance,” the CDC said.