The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has given approval to 10 local companies to produce and sell face masks in the country, as part of measures to control the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The 10 are out of 17 applications received by the Authority for testing and approval to ensure they met the right standard and rightly served the desired purpose.
Additionally, the FDA says applications have been submitted by three government institutions including two hospitals for testing to boost the availability of face masks for health workers and the general public at large.
In a statement signed and issued in Accra yesterday, the FDA stated that its laboratory and registration departments were now working “over the weekends to fast-track the process, ensure there is no backlog and ensure the availability of masks on the markets.”
It thus entreated manufacturers to take advantage of the expedited registration process to register their face masks so as not to produce sub-standard products to guarantee the safety and well-being of the general public.
To this end, the Authority reminded manufacturers of standards for the production of locally-made face masks including the use of calico for a three-layered face mask.
For a two-layered masks, the FDA advised the use of a stiff in-between the fabric cautioning that the “use of print fabric is dangerous to one’s health due to the chemical composition which can be harmful to one’s respiratory system.”
“The public is therefore urged to desist from the use of print fabric for making face masks and for institutions which have opted to make custom-made ones, we advise they use calico for the first and second layers and then, use the institutions official cloth for the third or outer layer.”
The FDA urged the public to patronise approved face masks to protect themselves and also help minimise the spread of the coronavirus as “the use of substandard face masks are as bad as not using any protective equipment against the pandemic.”
It encourages the public to check for approved face masks from the FDA website and other social media platforms so as not to be shortchanged.
BY TIMES REPORTER
