By Spy Uganda
The government of Uganda has postponed the distribution of free face masks after it was discovered that the ones that were recently produced didn’t adhere to the recommended standards.
The postponement comes after government through the Ministry of Health decided to reschedule distribution that was meant to start today, so as to allow companies manufacture three layer masks following a change in specifications by the Ministry of Health and cabinet.
It should be noted that President Yoweri Museveni, during his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, said the distribution of masks would begin today (June 10), starting with border districts.
However, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Diana Atwine said on Tuesday that distribution will not take place because production of the recommended three layer masks has not yet even started. “The companies had initially been asked to manufacture two layer masks, but when the specifications changed to three layers, the process had to start afresh and they now await confirmation from UNBS before starting production,” Diana said.
On his part, the executive director of UNBS Dr Ben Manyindo, said they received samples from the Ministry which are currently undergoing tests, although might take three days before the results are produced, after which they will identify which companies are able to produce the recommended ones.
(Diazepam)
