“N-95 mask only for frontline health workers,” Zafar Mirza urges public to use surgical masks

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has urged public to use surgical or homemade cloth masks in crowded places rather than wearing N-95 mask, ARY News reported.

The PM took to Twitter saying, “N-95 mask is a specialized mask only for frontline health workers who take care of critically ill COVID-19 patients in ICUs and HDUs.”

“For the general public, face mask in crowded places can be surgical or medical masks or even home-made cloth mask but not N95 mask,” he wrote in a Tweet.

For general public, face mask in crowded places can be surgical or medical masks or even home-made cloth mask but not N95 mask please. N95 mask is a specialized mask ONLY for frontline health workers who take care of critically ill COVID-19 patients in ICUs and HDUs.

— Zafar Mirza (@zfrmrza) June 1, 2020

On Sunday, SAPM Mirza in his briefing to NCOC said that the government was planning on hiring retired government doctors under contract to curb the dearth of doctors and paramedics in the country amidst the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

He also said that dedicated call centres for coronavirus will soon be established in all the provinces to address people’s concerns and answer their questions on the virus.

Zafar Mirza also told the NCOC that the province of Sindh and Balochistan were not ready to undertake and impose the idea of a smart lockdown like in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that both provincial governments have backed the quarantined isolation method of keeping the effects and spread of the virus minimal.