CHENNAI: What sort of mask should we all wear, now that the government has put out an advisory? Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh clarified that not all need to wear store-bought masks. “Only doctors, healthcare professionals, and others working alongside positive patients need PPE and N95 mask. Health professionals in other departments can wear just triple-layer mask.”
Among the public, she advised those with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and poor immunity to wear triple-layer mask while stepping out of homes. “For others, a normal homemade cloth mask would do. It should be washed with soap and dried in the sunlight. The Health Department has released guidelines on this,” she said.
Beela Rajesh also said that officials across the world initially thought only those with symptoms were spreading the virus. “Over 80 per cent who have tested positive in the State are asymptomatic, or have only mild symptoms. While we initially thought only those with symptoms can transmit the disease, it turns out that even asymptomatic persons can act as carriers,” she said.
Officials also clarified that the State’s wait for rapid test kits, crucial component in this fight against the virus, is further delayed. They are on transit and will arrive soon, assured Beela Rajesh.