Government moves to supply airports with surgical masks
Government moves to supply airports with surgical masks
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has distributed nearly 2,000 special masks to 12
major airports and seaports across the country to help prevent
officials from being infected with the deadly Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The masks have been distributed in health clinics in the
following areas: the ports of Jakarta; Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung
Balai Karimun, and Batam in Riau; Medan, North Sumatra; Surabaya,
East Java; Denpasar, Bali; Makassar, South Sulawesi; Manado,
North Sulawesi; Pontianak, West Kalimantan; and Tarakan, East
Kalimantan.
"We have distributed the special masks to these health
clinics, as they operate at international ports with high
traffic," said Indriyono, director of epidemiology surveillance,
immunization and health at the Ministry of Health, on Friday.
The government has also sent a total of 31 doctors to three
high-risk airports in Batam, Jakarta and Denpasar to provide
immediate aid to suspected SARS patients.
Indriyono also said that the government had asked local mask
producers to boost production to increase supplies as part of
efforts being undertaken to help protect the people from the
deadly virus.
"We hope people can get masks easily, but we might not be able
to provide free masks for all," he said.
Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi has said that the special
mask, or N-95 mask, was being sold at US$88 for 20 pieces.
Meanwhile, secretary general of the Indonesian Textile
Association (API) Indra Ibrahim told The Jakarta Post on Friday
that textile companies were ready to boost production of the
special mask, which meets the quality standard of the World
Health Organization (WHO).
He said that the technology to produce the type of mask in
mass volume was available.
"Some of the association members already own the machinery
necessary to produce the masks in mass numbers," said Indra.
In Jakarta, the local administration had also urged
pharmaceutical companies to import more N-95 masks amid rising
demands for the product.
Demand for the N-95 mask had increased during the last two
weeks following reports of suspected SARS cases in the capital.
"I had a meeting today with the association of pharmaceutical
entrepreneurs and the association of medical and laboratory tools
entrepreneurs," said A. Chalik Masulili, head of the city's
health subagency.
"I told them to ensure an ample supply of the masks and if
necessary, to import them."
"An N-95 mask has two different types, the NR and NP. 'N'
stands for non-oil, 'R' is for oil resistant and 'P' for oil
proof," said Steve Bjorg of the WHO office in Jakarta.
"'Ninety-five' means that the mask is able to filter particles
up to 95 percent. If it's 100 percent, then one would not be able
to breath."
He also said that the N-95 mask had been proved by the
international medical community that it was able to filter
particles of up to 0.3 micron.
"It has been used by the medical world to protect paramedics
from tuberculosis bacteria and other viruses, like chicken pox or
measles," said Bjorg.
What makes the mask different from ordinary masks, he said,
was that the mask fit very tightly around the wearer's nose and
mouth, so that anything inhaled or exhaled would be filtered.