REGULATING MASK PRICES. Health officials, in a press briefing at the Philippine Blood Center in Quezon City on Wednesday (Jan. 29, 2020), say the DOH is taking action on regulating prices of N95 and surgical masks in the country. The agency said it has contacted mask suppliers to bring in adequate supply of these items in the country. (PNA photo by Ma. Teresa P. Montemayor)
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) is taking action on the price regulation of N95 and surgical masks amid the novel coronavirus scare (2019-nCoV), its chief said Wednesday.
"I have spoken to our director for pharmaceutical products or division...and that's exactly the direction we will pursue," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a briefing on 2019-nCoV updates at the Philippine Blood Center in Quezon City.
Earlier, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said they have contacted mask suppliers to bring in enough supply to the country.
"At FDA (Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines), we're trying to contact the registered suppliers for medical devices and they promised to mobilize supplies but you will have to realize that they are now in demand worldwide, so if the supplies all going around, all countries are asking for them," Domingo said.
He also advised the public to be prudent about the use of masks.
"Not everybody needs an N95 mask, and N95 masks and gloves are recommended only for those taking care of sick people and those who are under investigation or in contact with them," he said.
World Health Organization country representative, Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe stressed that only people with signs and symptoms of respiratory infection are advised to wear masks and gloves.
"Normal people going about their normal work don't need to wear surgical masks or N95 masks. If you're visiting somebody in a health care facility where there is a concentration of people with respiratory infections or you're visiting a crowded place like a wet market, you may wear mask but you don't have to routinely wear masks from morning to evening," Abeyasinghe said.
He also assured the public that they don't face such a high risk that wearing of masks is needed. (PNA)
