DOH Sec. Duque advises public: 'Wag na tayo dumagdag sa shortage ng face masks

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Saturday advised the public that face masks need not be worn if they are not experiencing respiratory illness or infection and they should be left for healthcare workers' use.

Duque said this amid the flock to buy personal protective equipment such as surgical and n95 masks following the confirmation of the Philippines' first novel coronavirus case.

"Magfe-face mask kung meron kang ubo o sipon pero kung wala naman, 'di kailangan," Duque said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV aired on GMA News TV.

"Hayaan na natin na ang personal protective equipment na para sa mga healthworker kasi sila talaga ang humaharap sa mga may sakit. So 'wag na tayong dumagdag sa shortage ng mga mask," he said.

The Health chief noted that there is a global shortage of masks due to the massive bushfires in Australia.

"Kaya siguraduhin natin na 'yung mga taong humaharap sa mga may sakit, sila 'yung prayoridad sa mga personal protective equipment," Duque said.

Face masks were out of stock in several stores in Manila.

A day after the Philippines announced its first case of novel coroonavirus, a medical supply store in Manila turns away would-be buyers of surgical and N95 masks with a sign that says face masks—those of any kind—are already out of stock. Reuters

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier said the government, at least for now, is not likely to hand out free masks to the public and would only be relying on private manufacturers to produce more of them. 

Also on Friday, Senator Richard Gordon, in his capacity as Philippine Red Cross chief executive officer,  announced that $1.4 million worth of Filipino-made face masks were shipped to Wuhan City in China to combat the spread of nCoV, and that the face masks from the Philippines were shipped to China in just six hours.

On Thursday, the DOH confirmed that a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan City, China — the so-called epicenter of the deadly virus — tested positive for the 2019-nCoV. The said patient confined at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila is in stable condition, according to a source.

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo on Friday said there were 31 suspected cases of the novel coronavirus in the Philippines.

The death toll due to nCoV has reached 259 on Friday, according to China's health authority. —Ted Cordero/KG, GMA News