Saarbrucken – In the fight against the corona crisis, Saarland’s Minister of Consumer Protection Reinhold Jost (SPD) is calling on citizens to sew respiratory masks for personnel in health facilities. The ministry announced in Saarbrucken on Sunday that several thousand meters of fabric, rubber strands and yarn would be available for the “Swift fingers for helping hands” campaign. From Monday onwards, the material could be distributed free of charge to all volunteers.
Respirators do not offer secure protection against infection with the coronavirus, the message said. According to experts, wearing the masks – including the self-sewn ones – made sense to protect other people. “Any measure that can reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus a little is a sensible measure,” emphasized Jost.
The state government is taking every opportunity to continue to provide hospital staff in the hygienically sensitive areas with certified protective equipment. “However, we also have to keep an eye on the staff at the reception, in the area of building services or in the normally accessible stations,” said Jost. For them, a voluntarily worn do-it-yourself mask is better than none.
The minister also asked the fabric shops closed to the public to think about ways to offer a delivery service for mask nutrients and accessories.
