Spean Bridge resident turns her hand to coronavirus mask making
Spean Bridge resident Jenny Keane has started manufacturing face masks after becoming concerned there might not be enough if the government decides to advise people to start wearing them in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.
She told the Lochaber Times the mask, made out of a plastic bottle, might not be especially pretty but would give some protection until commercially made masks were available for everyone.
‘It is basic but it could save lives,’ said the former Fort William taxi firm boss who spent 30 years in Devon before moving to Invergarry, then Fort William, a number of years ago.
‘One bottle will make two masks for small faces or one for average adult.
‘You can wash it, disinfect it with Dettol/Savlon or whatever you have to hand,’ she explained.
‘You could line the inside edge of the mask if you wish. I used window draught proofing tape and some elastic for the straps.’
Asked why she felt the need to start making her own masks, Jenny told the Lochaber Times: ‘I listen to the BBC World Service on the radio and it seems at some point soon we might all be told to wear face masks when we go outside.
‘Given the problems finding enough face masks for medical staff and care workers, I thought this is something people could do for themselves.’
She has now made about a dozen of the masks, which she has distributed mostly to friends.
‘It also gives you something useful to do in the lockdown.’
Jenny, who ran Clansman Taxis in Fort William for a number of years, said the problem now is getting enough elastic to enable her to make more masks: ‘I have people across the country on the hunt for elastic for me!’