Taiwan inmates join COVID-19 battle with mask factory
11 March, 2020
Behind the barbed wire-topped fences of Taipei Prison, a little band of inmates are hunched over clacking sewing equipment, working overtime to turn out deal with masks amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Usually the men will be making prison uniforms in the bright-lit sewing factory in metropolis of Taoyuan.
But following the coronavirus pass on to Taiwan they switched to making masks, piecing together some 52,000 encounter coverings since mid-February.
Sporting a grey nose and mouth mask himself, a 50-year-good old inmate surnamed Yuh explained this individual was keeping his relatives close to heart as he performed.
"When they found see me, they explained it was very difficult to get nose and mouth mask out there. I said to them 'Daddy is definitely making face masks in this article, and that maybe you will have the benefit and the opportunity to use it'," he told AFP.
"Each and every time I sew deal with masks, I believe to myself that it could bring some protection to my children."
Yuh is currently a decade into a 23-calendar year sentence for possession of medications and firearms.
"This little nose and mouth mask not only allows us to contribute to society, in addition, it gives us self-esteem," he said.
The inmates - who've volunteered for the work - work quickly with machines they have clearly come to learn well.
Soon after stitching the fabric with the sewing machines, they carefully trim the masks with small scissors before ironing and packaging them.
Taiwan's prisons routinely use prisoners to create products from foodstuff to garments and soaps.
The programmes are made to teach inmates practical skills as well as raise funds for victim compensation and the improvement of facilities.
The masks are sold for about NT$25 (US$0.83) each and the inmates are actually paid a small wage that they can spend within the prison.
EXTRA SHIFTS
Correctional facilities across Taiwan are getting involved in the new scheme to manufacture cloth face masks and face mask protectors to supply their employees and the public.
Taiwan was first briefly struck by panic shopping for of medical encounter masks earlier this season until the government introduced a good rationing system.
The island has been organized for example of the way to handle an outbreak, with the federal government moving fast to lessen overseas arrivals from infected areas and issue clear medical guidance that has been widely adopted by the general public.
Despite being so close to the original outbreak in mainland China, Taiwan has just 48 confirmed conditions of the COVID-19 disease with one death.
The wearing of face masks among the general public has become fairly widespread.
But many Taiwanese declare the existing rationing of three surgical masks weekly is insufficient.
As a final result the face mask covers that prisons get can come in helpful - they are being used to cover surgical masks to increase their duration.
Yen Chih-hong, a Taipei Prison official who helps go the scheme, said inmates on the prison now get around 1,000 face masks daily, up from an initial 450 as orders keep increasing.
"They are very ready to do the job extra shifts to complete the orders ... often I have to ask them to have a break," he said.
Close by Hong Kong, which is struggling widespread face masks shortages, has long applied prison labour to create surgical masks, generally for government and healthcare workers.
The procedure there is far much larger with prisoners able to churn out greater than a million masks a month.
In recent weeks, prison staff have even joined up with inmates to bolster their ranks.
The other day, officials said they would launch a study after a number of the prison built masks had manufactured their way onto pharmacy shelves for sale.
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