Expert Suggests Double Face Masks Against New COVID Variant
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12 March 2021 21:14 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sriwijaya University epidemiologist Iche Andriany Liberty on Thursday advised residents of South Sumatra and Palembang to effectively double the face mask layers a person wears. This comes as a solution to protect against the new coronavirus variant that has been detected in the regions.
“If physical distancing cannot be adhered to, then it’s better to wear two face masks as it has already been recommended in the United States by the center for disease control and prevention (CDC),” said Liberty in Palembang on March 11.
She argued that doubling face masks such as combining cloth with medical masks was a viable option amid public activities that were slowly returning to normal where physical distancing measures were difficult to implement.
The epidemiologist said the finding of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus in Palembang should have tightened up the health protocols, which could help prevent the coronavirus from mutating. Liberty maintained that the better the spread was contained the better chance the public had in stopping it from mutating into a new variant.
She also called on the regional government of South Sumatra to step up its efforts to track down, trace, and treat COVID-19 cases in addition to the ongoing vaccination program.
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