Instructors from 25 Vocational Training Centers (VTCs) from Busia have been given a nod to start producing affordable and quality face masks for county residents.
Busia County Corona Emergency Response Committee on Tuesday tasked Director of Medical Services Janerose Ambuchi and Director VTC Leonard Opollo to have VTCs and other individuals start producing affordable but quality face masks.
Addressing eight instructors on behalf of the others at Busia VTC, Ambuchi said Covid-19 is a pandemic that has not spared even superpowers.
He said there is need for elaborate measures to tame the vice.
Ambuchi said research has established that droplets transferred through nostrils or throat tend to stay in air for some time.
She said it’s mandatory to put on masks in public places.
“Many people have developed tendencies of hanging masks around their necks, less oblivious of the dangers of inhaling the virus,” she said.
The medic who had tested several masks for reliability, urged instructors to produce quality masks, noting that this will pave way for elimination of substandard masks that have infiltrated the market.
Ambuchi produced samples of masks that meets quality standards.
She also tested some masks that had been produced by various VTCs and cleared some, but with more modifications required.
She said quality face mask should have three layers including filter paper and cotton material, noting that nothing less than that will be cleared by the committee.
Opollo said the unit cost per mask should be affordable considering that the target is the rural folk.
The instructors pledged to give their best and come up with a product that will meet the required threshold.