In a bid to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the Faculty of Education at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has produced and donated 500 pieces of re-usable fabric face masks to the institution’s management.
In a statement made available to EduCeleb.com in Lagos, the Dean of the faculty, Professor Monday Ubangha, said that the gesture was informed by the scarcity and high cost of medical face masks as well as continued spread of the virus.
“The production of the fabric face masks was carried out by the Department of Science and Technology Education of the Faculty of Education of the university,” the statement read in part.
“We thought it wise to produce these masks and donate same to the university management as our little contribution to the aggressive fight against the dreaded pandemic,” he said.
He quoted the UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, as commending the faculty for the initiative.
According to the dean, the vice-chancellor reiterated the need for all segments of the university community to be creative and be in the forefront of finding innovative local solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the university head directed the distribution of the face masks to various sections of the institution.
On this, he disclosed that 250 pieces of the masks would be given to the institution’s Security Unit, 100 to the Sabo Police Station and another 100 to the Bariga Police Station.
He said that the Yaba Local Council Development Area would receive 50 pieces of the face masks.
According to him, “a good fabric face mask would not require touching of the face and ears to adjust the elastics around the ears or pulling the mask up to cover the nose properly.”
“Specifically, ankara fabrics that would meet the taste of fashion-conscious Nigerians must be made with good finishing, to encourage people to move around freely wearing them.”
“Special attention has to be paid to the design considerations and fabric colour combinations, without compromising the main purpose for wearing the mask, which is, protection against COVID-19,” he added.
EduCeleb.com earlier reported that the Department of Chemistry at UNILAG also produced standard hand sanitisers in response to the pandemic.
These initiatives add to efforts across various tertiary institutions in Nigeria, which are all in response to combating the virus.
At the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; engineers and researchers produced ventilators that could aid breathing for patients.
Officials at the University of Benin, the University of Ilorin and a few others also produced hand sanitisers since the outbreak started.
Nigeria has so far confirmed about 800 cases of the virus that had affected over 2 million people globally.
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