Scientists in Hong Kong have released a video showing how people can make their own face masks with cheap household items.
Professor Alvin Lai, Dr Joe Fan and Dr Iris Li of the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital have invented an easy and cheap method for making home-made masks.
The invention comes as Chinese face mask factories struggle to keep up with demand and after a man was arrested in the region for breaking into a parked car and stealing eight boxes containing 160 face masks.
Covid-19, the name for the coronavirus, has so far killed 1,527 people worldwide and there have been 67,090 reported cases of it.
The 33-year-old suspect was the latest arrest during a spike in face-mask thefts in Hong Kong and China.
In Hong Kong, thieves recently stole 750 masks worth 3,000 HKD (£297) from a man in Sham Shui Po while a woman reported the theft of 1,000 face masks in Tsim Sha Tsui just one hour later, according to reports.
In footage released by the hospital scientists show how a face mask can be created using just 10 everyday household items.
To make a mask, you will need: kitchen roll, strong tissue paper, elastic bands, a hole punch, paper tape, scissors, plastic-coated steel wire, a pair of glasses, plastic file folders and binder clips.
However, the hospital specified that materials including cling film, air conditioner filter paper, and cotton cloth, were not suitable to make the masks.
Executive councillor and Elderly Commission chairman Dr Lam Ching-choi told SCMP: 'I hope this can alleviate the public panic. Scientific tests found these home-made masks can offer a certain extent of protection if one doesn’t have a mask at home.'
They advise that to make the mask you must:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and clean your items
- Put one piece of kitchen roll, with proper hygiene certification, on top of another
- Place a piece of tissue paper, which will act as the bottom layer of the mask, on top of the two pieces of kitchen roll
- Cut the stack of paper into two
- Use the paper tape to seal off the two sides of the mask
- Make two holes at each sealed side with the punch
- Attach the metallic wire with paper tape to the top edge of the mask to make the nose bridge wire
- Tie four rubber bands through the holes on the mask’s sides
To make an added protective shield to sit on top of the mask you must:
- Cut the file folder into two pieces
- Attach one piece on the edge of the glasses with binder clips
- The shield can be reused after disinfection for each usage
And China has today started disinfecting and isolating used banknotes. They use ultraviolet light or high temperatures to disinfect yuan bills, then they seal and store the cash for seven to 14 days - depending on the severity of the outbreak in a particular region - before recirculating them.
Fan Yifei, deputy governor of China's central bank, today said that banks have been urged to provide new banknotes to customers whenever possible.
The central bank made an 'emergency issuance' of four billion yuan in new notes to Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, prior to the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Fan added.
The measures are intended to 'secure the public's safety and health when using cash', Fan said.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
