The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) on Wednesday announced that it had banned from its premises use of face masks which have valve respirators.  

The ban by AKUH means no hospital employee or member of the public will be allowed into the private health facility while wearing the valve face mask.

The hospital, in a statement, explained why it took the drastic step.

“The design of these masks allow inhaled air to be filtered but the exhaled air is not. The exhaled air can be expelled towards others even more than from a person not wearing a mask,” the statement read.

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World Health Organisation (WHO) advised people to wear masks to curb the spread of Covid-19 even as some experts warned that not all masks can protect one getting or spreading the virus.

However, in the valve mask, when the wearer inhales the valve is closed but they exhale it opens to allow air to exit the mask without being filtered.

WHO, however, has not advise people to wear masks or respirators which have valves.

In August, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) adviced that face masks with valves were meant to be used by industrial workers to protect them from inhaling dust and other particles and are not effective in propection against Coronavirus.