Government moves to supply airports with surgical masks<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has distributed nearly 2,000 special masks to 12
\nmajor airports and seaports across the country to help prevent
\nofficials from being infected with the deadly Severe Acute
\nRespiratory Syndrome (SARS).<\/p>\n
The masks have been distributed in health clinics in the
\nfollowing areas: the ports of Jakarta; Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung
\nBalai Karimun, and Batam in Riau; Medan, North Sumatra; Surabaya,
\nEast Java; Denpasar, Bali; Makassar, South Sulawesi; Manado,
\nNorth Sulawesi; Pontianak, West Kalimantan; and Tarakan, East
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
\"We have distributed the special masks to these health
\nclinics, as they operate at international ports with high
\ntraffic,\" said Indriyono, director of epidemiology surveillance,
\nimmunization and health at the Ministry of Health, on Friday.<\/p>\n
The government has also sent a total of 31 doctors to three
\nhigh-risk airports in Batam, Jakarta and Denpasar to provide
\nimmediate aid to suspected SARS patients.<\/p>\n
Indriyono also said that the government had asked local mask
\nproducers to boost production to increase supplies as part of
\nefforts being undertaken to help protect the people from the
\ndeadly virus.<\/p>\n
\"We hope people can get masks easily, but we might not be able
\nto provide free masks for all,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi has said that the special
\nmask, or N-95 mask, was being sold at US$88 for 20 pieces.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, secretary general of the Indonesian Textile
\nAssociation (API) Indra Ibrahim told The Jakarta Post on Friday
\nthat textile companies were ready to boost production of the
\nspecial mask, which meets the quality standard of the World
\nHealth Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n
He said that the technology to produce the type of mask in
\nmass volume was available.<\/p>\n
\"Some of the association members already own the machinery
\nnecessary to produce the masks in mass numbers,\" said Indra.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, the local administration had also urged
\npharmaceutical companies to import more N-95 masks amid rising
\ndemands for the product.<\/p>\n
Demand for the N-95 mask had increased during the last two
\nweeks following reports of suspected SARS cases in the capital.<\/p>\n
\"I had a meeting today with the association of pharmaceutical
\nentrepreneurs and the association of medical and laboratory tools
\nentrepreneurs,\" said A. Chalik Masulili, head of the city's
\nhealth subagency.<\/p>\n
\"I told them to ensure an ample supply of the masks and if
\nnecessary, to import them.\"<\/p>\n
\"An N-95 mask has two different types, the NR and NP. 'N'
\nstands for non-oil, 'R' is for oil resistant and 'P' for oil
\nproof,\" said Steve Bjorg of the WHO office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"'Ninety-five' means that the mask is able to filter particles
\nup to 95 percent. If it's 100 percent, then one would not be able
\nto breath.\"<\/p>\n
He also said that the N-95 mask had been proved by the
\ninternational medical community that it was able to filter
\nparticles of up to 0.3 micron.<\/p>\n
\"It has been used by the medical world to protect paramedics
\nfrom tuberculosis bacteria and other viruses, like chicken pox or
\nmeasles,\" said Bjorg.<\/p>\n
What makes the mask different from ordinary masks, he said,
\nwas that the mask fit very tightly around the wearer's nose and
\nmouth, so that anything inhaled or exhaled would be filtered.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-moves-to-supply-airports-with-surgical-masks-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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