The LEGO Group is offering their assistance to healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis by using their facilities to produce thousands of protective facial visors.

According to an Instagram post that was published by LEGO earlier this week, the company’s Billund-based factory in Denmark has reworked some of their machinery to make more than 13,000 plastic masks per day. The masks will reportedly be distributed to hospitals and medical facilities across the country.

Although these visors do not offer the same kind of protection as N95 masks, individuals and businesses around the world have been producing the plastic shields—as well as homemade cloth masks—for medical workers to use as additional protection in high-risk areas.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/lego-factory-produces-protective-face-masks/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=17-04-2020

RnR

Kogan have reduced the above masks to $36.99 with free shipping

... they have sanitizer also but it is more expensive.

Incognito

The plastic shields seem to be more efficient than masks

You would think more of these products would be produced in Australia.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available
for shipping to Australia One of our overseas members on the CORE network has access to medical supply such as 3M brand masks and other PPE products (i.e. 3 ply mask, gloves, gowns, protective suits). Stock is available now and ready to ship. They also have all the necessary authorizations from relevant governments to release the medical supplies as well as necessary certifications for all medical equipment.

For more details on PPE products available, please contact Boris Murray directly from Atlas Marketing International on bmurray@atlas.marketing.

Maybe it is not worth spending money on masks if you are healthy??:

It should be well known that cloth masks, bandanas, or handkerchiefs will do very little to stop the spread of coronavirus. In fact, they may actually increase your risk of becoming ill from corona and other influenza-like illnesses. A 2015 study found cloth masks, when compared to surgical masks, increase the rate of influenza-like illnesses 13x! (1) Cloth masks are probably best avoided and should not be reused without properly sanitizing them.

Regular surgical masks are not much better in this situation. The COVID-19 virus is 0.125 µm in size. Surgical masks have been shown to not adequately filter against aerosols measuring from 0.9-3.1 µm. (2) Other researchers have shown that particles from 0.04-0.2 µm can penetrate surgical masks. (3)

A 2020 study in Seoul, South Korea looked at the effectiveness of surgical and cotton masks in blocking COVID-19 in a controlled comparison of four patients. (4) The COVID-infected patients were put in negative pressure isolated rooms. The scientists compared disposable surgical masks (3 layers) with reusable cotton masks. Patients were instructed to cough 5 times while wearing no mask, surgical mask, or cotton mask. Interestingly, all swabs from the outer masks—including surgical masks—were positive for COVID-19. Inner masks were also found to be contaminated. That means the mask did not effectively filter out the COVID virus since it is too small. The authors state, “Neither surgical nor cotton masks effectively filtered {COVID-19} during coughs by infected patients.”

The study also reported greater contamination on the outer than the inner mask (both surgical and cotton) surfaces. The authors claim that the mask is either allowing the virus to cross from the inner to the outer surface because the virus is too small or the aerodynamic feature of a mask could explain this finding. A turbulent jet due to air leakage around the mask edge could contaminate the outer surface.

US vice-president Mike Pence says he DOESN'T need to wear a mask because he's 'been tested' as he defies masks-for-all policy on tour of clinic - then claims he wanted to 'look healthcare personnel in the eye and say thank you' 

Vice President Mike Pence flouted the Mayo Clinic's face mask policy on Tuesday when he visited doctors and patients the Minnesota hospital, not wearing the protective covering despite the hospital requirement. The clinic asks all visitors to wear face masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, which is also a recommendation the Trump administration has made. Pence said he didn't wear one because he is regularly tested for the virus and doesn't have it. He added he wanted to look people in the eye and thank them. The masks cover the nose and mouth but not a person's eyes.