The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Seamstresses and tailors yesterday said they can produce between 1,000 and 3,500 COVID-19 face masks per week with better government co-ordination.

Phylicia Ellis, a fashion designer and seamstress, told Tribune Business: "I listened to the prime minister's presentation briefly, and from what I gathered they want to initiate and put money into the small businesses. By him directing money to small businesses, those small businesses can go on and hire people to help create those face masks.

"With that being said it is good that they are taking this seriously, and they want to make moves with this initiative. But we have to ask ourselves: By the government making this move and pivoting in this direction, are we doing it just for doing it sake, or are we doing it because it makes sense?"

Ms Ellis said her mask production depends on multiple variables, but she added: It depends on how many sewing machines I have at my disposal, and how many extra hands I will have at my disposal. Based off of how my company is set up right now, we can probably knock out 1,000 masks in two days."

While not "knocking" anyone existing face mask producers, she added: "I have seen some things posted on social media of various different types of masks, and a lot of persons aren't taking into consideration a lot of things.

"We just don't want to do something for the sake of doing it, and we want to make sure that we are getting the right material for making these masks because anybody can grab some fabric and create a mask, but will it be effective?"

Ms Ellis continued: "To meet the regulations there is a specific type of medical grade material to make medical masks. That material has a three-layer fibre with it that keeps out 95 percent of the things in the air.

"We went and looked online, and you can't find that stuff on the global market. The only place that is selling them is a place out of Massachusetts, and there is one out of Germany and another out of China. But because the global demand for it now is so large, it is hard getting that material and also very expensive. They are selling the material by the tonne, and honestly they are reserving it for big manufacturing companies and governments."

"It is a good thing that he [the Prime Minister] has decided to direct money towards the small businesses to help with these masks, but what would have been better is if the minister of health, or the Prime Minister, actually reached out to one of these manufacturing companies, and if the government had the ability to source the raw materials and purchase that in bulk, then distribute it to the various seamstresses and fashion designers and everyone on the island who can use a sewing machine," Ms Ellis said.

"That would be a better effort, and would assist us more than giving money to a group of persons and saying 'make this mask', because by doing that you don't really have a lot of regulations and you don't have a lot of oversight.

"You are allowing persons to work in their own little lane, and they are doing what they want to do. To be honest, some persons and their conditions are not that sanitary, and when you are preparing these masks - because these are going on the frontline for our healthcare workers - you need to ensure that it is a safe and sanitary environment.

"I recommend that the Government source the material, find the warehouse - as there are many warehouses in The Bahamas - and source the sewing machines, and gather all of the fashion designers and all of the seamstresses on the island, and bring them together and let us get this working," Ms Ellis said.

"We need to all band together. The minister of health has been doing an amazing job in trying to get in front of this, but we ask him to take it one step forward and source the raw material. Bring it into the country in bulk and get persons to make the masks, but don't go giving money to this one and that one. It would be a better use of the country's resources to direct the money into one big pool rather than distributing money to individual persons."

Oscar Cerna, another local tailor, told Tribune Business: "It's OK. We don't have any elastics here. I need elastics and I have some fabric. I can make mass production. I can make 1,000 masks in one week. I was trying to talk to the Prime Minister because we can set up something for The Bahamas as we need a lot."