The Importers and Wholesalers Association (IWA) of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Ghana has expressed concern about the influx of substandard face shields on the Ghanaian market.
To this end, the group has called on Ghanaians to be wary about the quality of face shields they purchase from the market.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of IWA, Mr Kelvin King-Dawie, said a proper face shield should be medicated and contain 180-degree full face protection, full eye protection, clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET) acrylic shield, anti-fog material, cleanable and reusable.
“The public should note that medically-approved face shield is one produced with PET; the short for polyethylene terephthalate and medical name for polyester,” he said.
He, therefore, urged the public to patronise only PET face shields.
He added that most of the face shields being sold currently on the market places could be harmful to the health of users because they are not PET-based.
Mr King-Dawie said the flooding of the market with low quality face shields had negatively affected the business of IWA members who were involved in the supply and distribution of genuine face shields.
“The market has been infiltrated with sub-standard face shields selling at low prices and thus affecting the supply and distribution of genuine face shields on the market,” he added.
He further added that it had become imperative for people to use a standardised protective equipment to aid the fight against spread of the coronavirus disease.
“Considering the dynamics of the coronavirus and other air-borne communicable diseases with their associated preventive protocols, it has become imperative for people to find enhanced protective equipment against direct contacts with the agents of the virus transmission like cough, sneeze, saliva and mucus, while ensuring other instituted protocols ,” Mr King-Dawie added.
“The face shield is therefore a great defence as it is designed to trap droplets on the shield. By having both the susceptible person and the infectious source in [the] face shield, the transmission rates will moderately be decreased, especially in social settings,” he added.
The group, Mr King-Dawie said, would engage the government and stakeholders in the health sector to set standards for the sale and proper use of the face shields as the world battled to curb infection rates of the COVID-19.
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR AND GLORIA NSIAH MINTAH
