Assam trio makes face masks, shields

As a non-practising medical physician, Dipannita Kaushik determined she needed to pitch in because the coronavirus pandemic raged throughout the globe. So the 29-year-old from Guwahati, Assam, who’s presently pursuing a Masters in public well being, determined to make face shields and masks for employees on the frontline with the assistance of her mom and her fiancé, reusing outdated X-ray and projector sheets.

“I know what it’s like to not have proper gear, even in ordinary times,” mentioned Kaushik, who has served as a resident at an Apollo hospital and at Pratiksha Hospital in Assam.

“During an outbreak like this one, I can’t even imagine the risks. Often the most under-equipped and severely affected are the Asha [accredited social health activists], multipurpose health workers and anganwadi workers who are actually doing the grass root data collection and who act as a bridge between the healthcare community and the population. So I wanted to do this for them.”

Kaushik’s mom, Simarekha Bhagowati, 56, a school professor, had loads of outdated OHP sheets mendacity round, leftovers from Math lectures in earlier a long time. They dug up a bunch of outdated X-rays too. They use a number of strips of the stiff X-ray sheets to make every body; the projector movies type the veil.

Kaushik’s fiancé, Tuhin Bhuyan, 28, a software program engineer, helps put the shields collectively utilizing craft glue. Her mom pitches in with the masks, on their stitching machine.

Their first batch of 40 masks and shields was prepared by the primary week of April. “The second part of my job was to reach the right people,” Kaushik mentioned. She contacted Dr Santimoyee Barua, the surveillance medical officer on the ministry of well being and household welfare in Guwahati, who mentioned she could be glad to have the consignment.

The second batch was prepared by the center of May and went to Dr Nabin Bhuyan, medical superintendent on the Morigaon Civil Hospital, a delegated facility for Covid-positive instances.

“Such quick thinking can be life-saving,” mentioned Barua. “The shields especially, because of the greater protection they offer, are very useful to the Asha and multipurpose workers who are out in the field, tracing suspected Covid-19 infections.”

Her third batch, Kaushik mentioned, will go to visitors personnel, avenue distributors and native shopkeepers later this month. Meanwhile, she has additionally posted YouTube tutorials to assist others make such kits too.

“DIY shields could be a vital strategy as we unlock and prepare for life amid the virus,” she mentioned. “The good thing about them is that they can also be sterilised and reused, again and again, until some component gives way. It’s just what we need.”

Each package takes the group of three round 10 minutes to make. And since she has had loads of time indoors, Kaushik mentioned it’s been a great way to maintain busy and make herself helpful, exterior her common routine of home tasks and thesis work.

“Her masks more than meet our standards,” Nabin Bhuyan mentioned. “We have used them in the hospital and out in the field. Innovative, cost-effective ventures like these are vital in resource-constrained countries like ours.”

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