CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – More people and groups have pitched in their time and resources to help medical front liners to battle the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Among them is a group called CDO Makers Response Team that has manufactured face shields which they are donating to health personnel at the state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC).which are treating Covid-19 patients and persons under investigation (PUI).
Raven Duran, a 25-year-old who opened the information technology firm XDevs, contributed his part by producing face masks using his 3-D printers since mid-March.
He said it takes an hour and a half to make a face shield frame using plastic filament. The face shield is made up of a plastic frame and acetate.
“There are different designs, but our design is easy to make and it is also sturdy,” he added.
Duran said the materials for the face shield is being provided free by the Department of Trade and Industry, which gives out rolls of filament, and educational supply stores, which donate the acetates.
“We got a request from the NMMC for more than a thousand face shields. We aim to deliver that number,” Duran said. The group has so far delivered 348 face shields as of March 26.
“We have seen how hard our front liners are working to stop the Covid-19 pandemic. At least they will have something to use to keep them safe,” he said.
Duran said he wanted at first to manufacture 3D-printed ventilators, but opted instead to go into face shield production, as they are easier and faster to make.
The team said they are currently prioritizing NMMC for the production of face shield “as it is now the center of Covid-19 response in the region.”
John Vincent Fiel, 27, co-founder of Wela School Systems, a company that makes radio frequency identification system in learning institutions, said they are also making sure that the finished face shields are sanitized before turning them over the DTI.
Fiel said they soak the face shield frame in disinfectant as part of the protocol.
He said they are appealing to companies and schools who have the equipment to pitch in and help them produce face shields and other necessities for the health personnel.(davaotoday.com)
