While initiating the lockdown back in March delayed the spread of the virus, the president addressed the nation to voice his distress with the growing number of cases on Sunday evening. With the drastic rise in cases of Covid-19 growing by an average of 12 000 new cases each day, new regulations for level 3 of lockdown have been gazetted.
These new regulations include an immediate suspension of the sale of alcohol, an enforced curfew and strict penalties to enforce mask-wearing. For the past few months, the wearing of face masks was encouraged by all South Africans in public spaces, but now the wearing of masks is legally required.
Anyone in a public space is now required to wear a mask and the appropriate nose and mouth coverings in such spaces will be enforced. Property and store owners, employers and institutional heads are now held responsible for ensuring their staff, customers and students wear face masks when in public spaces and can face six months jail time and/or fines if they allow mask-free people on their premises.
With many now legally obliged to ensure that anyone entering their premises or vehicle must be wearing a mask, the provision of single-use 3-ply civilian masks to employees and customers may be the most effective way to ensure the economic activity is not stunted any further.
3-ply single-use face masks consist of inner and outer layers made with spun-bound polypropylene, and the middle filter is made of premium melt-blown polypropylene. This means single-use disposable masks offer the highest filtration, with an efficacy of up to 95% against particulate matter such as viruses & bacteria.
As the global supply of PPE has increased, the prices of disposable masks have dropped making them significantly more affordable than cloth masks. It has become common practice for businesses around the world to issue free masks to employees and customers.
While the country will stay at alert level 3, with 276,242 confirmed cases – a number estimated to be growing by 500 each hour – South Africa is confronting a grave crisis. Understanding the vulnerability of our population which is burdened with high rates of diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV/Aids, cancer and other illnesses, practising social distancing, hand hygiene and wearing a mask that offers high-quality filtration is of the utmost importance to help heal our country.
Syntech distributes certified single-use 3-ply face masks, KN95 civilian respirators and the rest of the necessary personal protective equipment needed to keep your business operational and compliant. Ensure your business is prepared and keep your family safe with Syntech’s medical range.