The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has issued new standards for facemasks and is calling upon facemask manufacturers to seek certification of their products to ensure that they meet the national quality standards.
UNBS approved three (3) facemask standards (specifications) and five (5) test methods for use, most especially now when the country is battling COVID-19.
The three standards (specifications) approved include respiratoryprotective devices – filtering half masks to protect against particles – requirements, testing and marking.
Others are Medical face masks – requirements and test methods, non-medical masks- specification
The 5 ISO test methods were adopted to support the quality assurance of the standards.
Two (2) facemask standards; Respiratory protective devices and Medical facemasks are mandatory and can be accessed via https://webstore.unbs.go.ug
The non-medical mask standards (voluntary), will be given out by UNBS at NO FEE for now, to allow for homemade non-medical masks to be used, in parallel to the medical masks.
Manufacturers who are also interested in making non-medical masks are advised to seek certification using this voluntary standard.
To get free copies of the homemade facemask standards, please send an email to george.opiyo@unbs.go.ug or maurice.musuga@unbs.go.ug .
The frequent use of masks and sanitizers is one of the measures put forward by government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Standards body urges the public to follow guidelines set by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the President of Uganda to fight COVID-19.
The News Editor ,Reporter at Kagadi Kibaale community Radio
