Medical scrubs should not be worn in public, Ministry of Health warns

Studies show medical coats and scrubs can transmit germs, especially around sleeves and pockets.

Medical staff are urged not to wear medical clothes outside work. Christopher Pike / The National
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The Ministry of Health has urged all medical professionals and students to refrain from wearing their medical coats outside of work or study to avoid transmitting diseases to members of the public.

Dr Amin Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for public health policy and licensing and vice chairman of the medical licensing committee, said although the ministry issued similar circulars in 2012 and last year, some medical professionals and students had been observed in breach of the rules.

This included people being spotted wearing their medical coats in public, in mosques, commercial centres, at conferences and on TV - despite several studies saying medical coats and scrubs can transmit germs, especially around sleeves and pockets, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.

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