Are Self-Sterilizing Portals as Efficient as They’re Claimed to Be? Experts Warn of Risks
By Nour El-Miligi
The newly introduced self-sterilizing gates have been used in different countries as a method to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Yet rumor mills have been spinning regarding its efficiency.
As lately during “masa’ DMC” tv show, Epidemiology Consultant at the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Amgad El Kholy clarified the issue by stating that sterilizing gates are not eligible for reducing the spread of the virus, on the contrary, it actually is harmful.
Al Khouli further explained that WHO never recommended using these pedestals as no scientific benefit has been proven for sterilization gates. They warned people of these portals and its potential health risks on people, since day one of its inceptions, because of sterilization materials that might have harmful effects on human health.
A graphic video about sanitizing gates and how it’s used has been circulating on social media with the logo of WHO, that Dr. Al Khouli later revealed the video is fabricated and was never issued by the World Health Organization at all.
Dr. El Khouli wasn’t the only one addressing the issue, as Assistant Undersecretary For Drug and Food Control Affairs in Kuwait, Dr. Abdullah El Badr, noted as well the threat of using them, as the disinfection materials used are primarily made for cleaning surfaces and not to be used on the human body. Also, the process of randomly spraying purified chemicals on a person from all directions may lead to inhalation or reaching other parts of the body negatively affecting human health and even clothes.