Kenyans have, countless times, been advised against wearing face masks unless they feel sick.
Some experts argue that wearing a face mask might actually make a bad situation worse.
But the ministry maintains that clinical masks, being scarce resources, should be left only to the sick and healthcare providers.
“If you are not unwell, you are wasting a useful resource which is hard to come by at the moment. Please let’s keep the masks for those of us who are unwell and the healthcare workers so that it can serve its purpose,” DG Patrick Amoth has always emphasised.
But the debate has taken a twist after scientists in the US discovered that coughs can travel as far as six metres and sneezes up to eight metres and not one metre as previously believed.
The new government directives require that anyone going to the supermarket, open-air market or boarding public vehicles should wear a mask to reduce the risk of virus transmission.
Boda boda riders and their passengers are also required to do so or else their motorcycles are impounded and they themselves prosecuted.
The directive has seen a boom in the trade of masks with hawkers vending the now essential woven cloth at Sh50.
On Sunday, Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi called on all Kenyans to acquire a mask even as they wait on the government to begin the distribution of masks after the mass production kicked off.
But what should an ideal mask look like? Kenya Bureau of Standards MD Bernard Njiraini says a good mask is determined by the design.
The mask must be 3-ply; meaning that it must have three layers.
“The outer layer is supposed to be waterproof, ie hydrophobic. The middle layer is supposed to filter in the micro-organisms and the inner layer is supposed to absorb some moisture. All these layers have some functions,” Njiraini said on Monday.
Manufacturers are required to adhere to these standards. Currently, there are around 40 local manufacturing companies recommended by Kebs to produce protective gear.
According to Trade and Industrialisation CS Betty Maina, there are masks for medical personnel and there are general masks that anyone can wear as they go out to prevent them from getting any of the infections while going about their business.
“Three-ply can be utilised by the health professionals but is also good for you so if you go out to buy ensure you can be able to detect that it has got three plies.
"There is the inner layer then the darker part is the outer layer for gathering dust but there should be a filter inside it. So that is something that medical personnel can wear and all of us."
Maina added, "There are simple dust masks that can be won by everybody including our boda boda riders just for dust purposes.”
She said masks woven from cloth don't protect against Covid-19.
“It may protect you against dust and other particles in the air but it will not protect you against this disease because it doesn’t have the inner filter.”
In certain situations, especially for people in poorly ventilated rooms, masks will go a long way in reducing transmission.
For instance, if you are facing someone who is infected, masks will help in diverting the flow of their breadth and its load of the virus away from the mouth of the healthy individual.
Another argument is that wearing a mask is more effective than social distancing.
They should, however, be worn consistently and properly and be changed regularly.
“Since we have evolved now to what is more of community transmission, then there is a need for more people to wear masks. There are people we are not able to identify because they don’t have symptoms as we are not able to test the whole population, but they are just here among us,” Prof Ruth Nduati of the University of Nairobi told the Star.
Kenya Union of Clinical Officers secretary general George Gibore said although using masks can be helpful, majority of Kenyans assume they are safe from contracting the virus and forget that not all face masks are useful or safe.
Edited by R.Wamochie