CORONAVIRUS | Creativity and effort by a young Penangite engineer, Louis Ooi Shiong Yirk paid off when the Penang government decided to support his cause to provide lower-cost face shields to the Penang General Hospital and health clinics.
Yesterday, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow met Ooi, 28, and his team members who came up with the new face shield already in use with local medical frontliners.
The new face shield has gained recognition from medical experts at the Penang General Hospital for being "safer, more comfortable to wear, cheaper and easier to make."
"I am proud of this achievement by our young engineers whose talents are put to good use through the Stem platform network as part of the state government’s Penang Science Cluster (PSC) initiative," Chow said during his Facebook Live media conference today.
"For your information, the state government will be allocating RM60,000 to cover the cost of producing 2,000 such face shields every day for a one-month period.
"This is in support of the use of this product in all government hospitals and clinics in Penang."
The initiative was highlighted by Malaysiakini, where Dr Seet Jia Sheng, who is currently working as a frontliner under Penang GH Covid-19 screening team, said PPEs (personal protective equipment) were currently running out in most hospitals.
Jeet, who is a friend of Ooi's expressed his thanks to the engineer, and 300 pieces of the face shields have already been sent to Penang GH. The hospital's Emergency Department will receive 75 pieces and 225 pieces to the Covid-19 ward.
When contacted, Ooi (photo) expressed gratitude for the support from both Chow and the community at such short notice.
Ooi said the state science and technology community led by PSC is "amazing".
"With their help, we've managed to provide the face shields to 17 hospitals in Penang, with more than 1,300 sets of reusable face shields, and 7,000 consumable PVC transparent sheets," Ooi said.
"We have more than 30 members in the Penang 3D Printing group who are involved in printing an average of 250 face shields per day.
"We have more than 100 members in our volunteer pool, ready to work to provide the product," he added.
Ooi was part of the PSC community before he started his own company (12Make Sdn Bhd), saying: "I would not be here without PSC".
"This project is very meaningful to me and filled up my time during the movement control order (MCO), it sparked my passion on design and engineering, I was busier than before the MCO," Ooi quipped.
"I sincerely appreciate the contributions and support given by the state government until today.
"During this challenging time, we bear witness to the show of camaraderie and spirit of humanity," he said.
Meanwhile, Chow thanked all parties who contributed much-needed equipment to the state government and the Penang General Hospital.
They are:
- The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Penang
- XSD International Paper
- The Government of Quangang District, Fujian Province
As at 12 noon today, the number of Covid-19 cases in Penang is 98 (up two from yesterday), with 66 discharged, and one death.
The distribution of cases are:
- Northeast district: 26 cases, 15 discharged
- Southwest: 9 cases, 7 discharged
- Seberang Perai North: 17 cases (increased by one from yesterday), 12 discharged
- Seberang Perai Central: 36 cases, 24 discharged, one death
- Seberang Perai South: 10 cases, 8 discharged.
The only death in Penang so far is a participant who comes from the Tabligh gathering cluster. - Mkini
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