People letting their Covid guard down even in red zone provinces, poll shows
A recent poll by the Department of Health revealed that only 65 per cent of people in red zones were wearing a face mask correctly, while the rest were either wearing them incorrectly or not wearing at all.
According to the announcement by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on June 28, 10 provinces have been categorised as red zone, or under the highest control level based on Covid-19 infection rate. The red provinces are: Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla.
“Failing to wear a face mask properly could contribute to increased infection at community level,” Department of Health director-general Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai said on Saturday.
“Please make sure that the mask fits snugly on your face and that no air is escaping from near the eyes or from either side of the mask. If you wear it correctly, you will feel hot air at the front of the mask, and sometimes will see the mask move in and out as you breathe.”
Suwanchai added that to increase protection while in crowded spaces, such as in public transport or when interacting with people that have high risk of infection, people can wear a cloth face mask on top of a sanitary mask.
“It is, however, not recommended to wear a cloth face mask first and then cover it with a sanitary mask, or wear two sanitary face masks, or wear another mask on top of an N95 mask. These ways will not only make it harder for you to breathe, but also offer no extra protection.
“People who should not wear face masks are children aged under 2 and people who have respiratory diseases,” he added.
Suwanchai said that besides wearing face masks, people should adhere to other disease control measures, like washing one’s hands regularly with soap and water or alcohol sanitizer, avoiding touching your face, staying at least 1-2 metres away from others, checking in and out via ThaiChana platform, and evaluating yourself via Thai Save Thai platform (https://savethai.anamai.moph.go.th/) before going to work every day to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.