Kerala jails produce face masks to tackle demand-supply gap in the state

Thiruvananthapuram: The tailoring units in Kerala’s jails are all set to contribute to the state government’s attempts to tackle the high demand for face masks and a consequential scarcity of the same due to the outbreak of Covid-19 coronavirus.

Stitching units in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Viyyur central prisons have started production of face masks, and other jails are soon to follow.

“As the state is facing a global epidemic, the prison inmates are joining hands with the government to address the crisis,” said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a Facebook post.

There has been acute shortage of face masks and hand sanitizers as Kerala has been hit by the second round of Covid-19 cases.

Meanwhile, few NGOs and social groups have also started making and distributing face masks to hospitals.

Little Flower Church in Kochi in association with the Kerala Latin Catholic Association (KLCA) has started producing face masks. Tailoring machines have been brought from households and members of the church produced more than 500 masks in a single day.

“The face masks will be handed over to the Health Department for free. The Church has taken a decision in this regard during in the wake of reports on shortage of face masks in the state,” said Fr. Sebastian Karukappally, Vicar of the church.

Meanwhile, Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a public sector undertaking, has started production of hand sanitizers to bridge the demand-supply gap in the market.