The Government has added wearing of face masks to a long list of measures designed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The move came after it became clear that countries – especially in Asia – that required their citizens to wear face masks had made impressive progress in containing the virus.

Rwanda Drugs and Food Authority has since licensed more than two dozen firms to produce masks and issued guidelines on how to make the materials.

The plan is for locally made cloth masks to hit the market this week.

While this is an important step forward as far as battling Covid19 is concerned, its effectiveness is dependent on compliance with the guidelines.

For starters, it is one thing to wear a face mask and another for the material to serve its purpose. It is critical that face masks are worn properly, for the recommended number of hours and then properly washed (a maximum of six hours for cloth masks) and ironed for a maximum of three times or so. For surgical masks it is advisable that you wear it no more than four hours before properly disposing it of since it is not reusable.

Needless to say, considering that wearing masks is not in our culture, there is a need for continued public sensitisation on how to use and when to change face masks. Inappropriate use would defeat the very purpose of wearing masks.

It is vitally important that members of the public embrace this new normal of wearing masks – at least for the foreseeable future – and to continue observing social distancing measures and regularly wash hands with soap. It is through strict adherence to health guidelines and cooperation with authorities that we will beat Covid-19.