Nice, Crest Form seek to make medic facemasks

Local manufacturer of plastic products, Nice House of Plastics and Crest Foam company, that makes mattresses are in advanced stages to start producing protective gears for medical personnel to help in the fight against the fast spreading coronavirus, Uganda Manufacturers’ Association (UMA) has said.
UMA is an umbrella association of local manufacturers.

The UMA executive director, Mr Daniel Birungi, said Nice and Crest Foam designed samples of transparent plastic face masks, which were to be presented to the Ministry of Health for detailed specifications on the final product.
“These companies are already in contact with the Ministry of Health to get the product quality right,” Mr Birungi said yesterday.

“This product is not practical for anyone that is not in the medical field. This is something that is for the medical practitioners because the gear the manufacturers are targeting is to facilitate their [medical officers] work,” he said, adding that he was confident the two companies will deliver once they are given specifications about the quality of masks and plastic aprons.
“They are already in discussion with Ministry of Health on how to improve the product and make it ready for use by the medical professionals. They are working to ensure this is provided as fast as possible,” Mr Birungi said.
“We don’t have a challenge in production and we will produce all that is needed for the high-grade masks,” he added.

Samples
Mr Birungi revealed that the Bugolobi-based industry, Nice House of Plastics, had already designed and developed plastic aprons to be used by medical workers in the fight against the coronavirus.
By press time, it was not clear whether the said companies had agreed on specifications because calls made to the officials of Crest Foam and Nice House of Plastics were not answered.
Since Uganda recorded the first Covid-19 case on March 21, a number of local companies have contributed to government’s efforts in combating the pandemic.

Background
The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, while giving an update on the state of Covid-19 pandemic in the country yesterday said her ministry is still in need of support to boost government efforts against the disease.
Uganda has so registered 44 positive cases of coronavirus with no death or recoveries yet.
There has also been allegations that medics have been running away from patients due to lack of protective gears.
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