Gaza textile factories switch to masks
GAZA CITY: Queen Tex factory in Gaza used to specialise in manufacturing shirts and jeans, but with the novel coronavirus epidemic sweeping the globe it has pivoted into medicalwear.
Now lines of men are using old sewing machines to stitch together masks while also wearing them, as the blockaded Palestinian enclave develops a homegrown response to the crisis.
“We were intending to import masks and suits from China but there were difficulties importing, so we decided to make them ourselves,” manager Hassan Alwan said.
His factory says it works to international standards but only has enough material to make around 1,000 hazmat suits.
The Gaza Strip has only had a handful of confirmed COVID-19 cases so far.
The suits, masks and gloves are being made initially for the local market, with the potential to later export to Israel which is fighting a far larger outbreak.
Hassan Shehata, co-director of another factory, Hasanco, is optimistic he can sell to the Israeli market. “Israeli companies sent us the loth to produce medical masks for them. They need millions of masks,” he said.
“We want to produce three million masks.” Dozens of employees work 10-hour days but there are not enough machines to hit their targets, he said.
Many Palestinian factories used to supply the Israeli market before 2007.
Now, the coronavirus crisis could allow the struggling Gaza textiles industry to make a comeback, said Maher Al Tabbaa of the local chamber of commerce. “The Gaza clothing industry is characterised by high quality that competes globally if it is given the possibility of exporting.”
Apart from scissors and hair gel, barber Rami Azzam has boxes of gloves and masks and sanitiser spray at the ready as he snips.
“Health ministry employees come daily to sterilise the barbers, they have imposed tough measures,” he said. “But hardly any customers come for a shave.”
Customer Suleiman Al Dahdour, 28, said he had been avoiding having a haircut until he heard of the protective measures.
“Of course there’s fear,” he said. “But as you see, the barber’s wearing a mask and gloves.”
Gaza has so far declared only 10 cases of the new coronavirus, starting with two people who returned from Pakistan and were already in quarantine when diagnosed.