The portfolio head of Public Safety, Mally Mokoena has received over 7 000 face shields from the University Of Johannesburg (UJ) in the ongoing fight against the increasing spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mokoena says the face-shields will be used by the department of Public Safety's frontline staff, which has, in recent weeks experienced several positive cases of Covid-19.

According to experts at the World Health Organisation, public health procedures and protocols need to be strictly adhered to in order to successfully prevent the virus from transmitting further.

Mokoena acknowledges that safety is paramount. “It is important that all Public Safety personnel, the JMPD and EMS in particular, are equipped with personal protective equipment," she says.

The MMC notes that the face shields were donated through a partnership between UJ and Corporate and Investment Bank, Investec. They will be distributed equally to those on duty, whose mandate is to attend to public concerns.

Mokoena says the face shields are designed to prevent JMPD officers and EMS personnel from acquiring fresh infections of the novel coronavirus in their line of work.

“It is important for our officials to consistently follow standard health precautions when dealing with members of the public; this will help contain the spread of the vicious coronavirus," she says.

Scientists endorse face shields because unlike masks that cover the nose and mouth, they may also keep the virus from entering through the eyes